Foreign capital into real estate is increasing  In November, Vietnam had four new FDI projects in the fields of real estate with a total value of approximately $300 million, the highest since the beginning of the year.   To date, there were 20 new FDI projects and four expanded projects in the real estate sector, up 10 projects over the same period of last year. After a long quiet period, the number of real estate projects is increasing although the capital reaches only $885 million, equivalent to a half of the same period of 2012, according to the Foreign Investment Department (Ministry of Planning and Investment). According Vinacapital - a long-term foreign investor in Vietnam, the real estate market has improved significantly since early 2013 thanks to the government’s determination and actions. Besides the social housing development policy, the exchange rate has been kept constant, the interest rates are going down and bad debt in the system is gradually resolved. "This will help significantly improve the credit for the rest of 2013 and 2014," said Vinacapital. However, Vinacapital concerns the particular interest for the real estate sector, which still remains high, averaging between 13-15 percent per year. Banks requiring big collateral while the estate market does not yet strongly recover is also a challenge for new loans or refinancing. In general, by November 20, 2013, Vietnam had 1,175 new FDI projects and 446 expanded FDI projects, with a total capital of $20.8 billion, up 54 percent compared to the same period in 2012, exceeding the yearly goal ($13-15 billion). The processing and manufacturing industries remain the top spot with 870 new and expanded FDI projects, totaling over $16 billion, accounting for 77 percent of the total FDI capital. They are followed by power, gas and water production and distribution and air conditioner manufacturing. Real estate sector ranked third and wholesale, retail and repair in fourth place. Disbursement of FDI in the past 11 months was estimated at $10.5 billion, an increase of 5 percent over the same period in 2012 and is approximately to the target ($10.5-11 billion). Japan is still the largest foreign investor in Vietnam, followed by Singapore and South Korea. Thai Nguyen province tops for FDI attraction, with $3.3 billion from Samsung. Na Son, VietNamNet Bridge