Vietnam has attracted foreign investment worth US$1.8 billion in the first two months this year, including $200 million to expand existing projects, the Foreign Investment Agency said.

The amount is 74 percent down year on year, while investment in new projects is down 40 percent, the agency, which is run by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, said.

It expects FDI for the whole year to be between $32 billion and $36 billion, thanks to the global economic recovery.

It had plummeted by 70 percent last year to $21.48 billion.

Foreign investors brought in $700 billion in February compared to $400 million a month earlier.

Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s commercial hub, has attracted $300 million so far and is considering licensing a $3 billion property project.

The city hopes to attract $8.4 billion this year, four times last year’s figure of $2 billion, according to Dau Tu (Vietnam Investment Review) newspaper.

Another southern economic hub, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, tops the FDI list this month after licensing two projects worth $922 million.

The US-based Skybridge Dragon Sea Co’s Dragon Sea International Convention and Tourism Resort alone accounted for $900 million, Thoi Bao Kinh Te Sai Gon Online (Saigon Economic Times Online) newspaper reported.

Thanh Vinh