Southern region leads nation in FDI attraction with $7.21 billion Workers put finishing touches to wooden shelves at a factory run in Binh Duong Province by Taiwanese firm Kaiser Furniture Co. The southern province has to date attracted US$19.98 billion in FDI. - VNA/VNS Photo Quach Lam HA NOI (VNS)- The southern region has attracted US$7.21 billion worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2014, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency. The recorded value accounted for 35.9 per cent of the total FDI registered in the country, which pushed the region as the top performer in terms of FDI attraction. From January to December, 644 new foreign-invested projects were licensed while 238 operating ones were allowed to increase capital in the region, which comprises HCM City, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Dong Nai and Binh Duong. Also included in the region are Binh Thuan, Tay Ninh, Binh Phuoc and Ninh Thuan. The latest addition has brought the number of licensed projects in the region to a total of more than 9,760 with a combined investment capital of $114.95 billion. This amount made up 56 per cent of the nation's total number of foreign-invested projects and 45.8 per cent of the total FDI registered in the country to date, the agency noted. Among eight localities, HCM City ranked first with $38 billion, or equivalent to 31.1 per cent of the region's total FDI. It was followed by Ba Ria – Vung Tau ($26.7 billion, or 23.2 per cent); Dong Nai ($22.35 billion, or 19.4 per cent) and Binh Duong ($19.98 billion, or 17.4 per cent). Four remaining provinces, Binh Thuan, Tay Ninh, Binh Phuoc and Ninh Thuan, made up 3.1 per cent, 2.1 per cent, 0.82 per cent and 0.7 per cent of the total FDI pledged in the region, respectively. Singapore was the region's leading source of FDI with $15.31 billion, which accounted for 13.3 per cent of the region's total FDI. South Korea came second with $14.96 billion, or 13 per cent. Taiwan and Japan ranked third and fourth with $13.1 billion, or 11.4 per cent, and $12 billion, or 10.4 per cent, respectively. During the reviewed period, the manufacturing and processing sector attracted the largest share of FDI, with $57.6 billion, or 50.1 per cent of the region's total registered FDI. It was followed by estate trading ($27.18 billion, or 23.6 per cent) and hospitality and catering services ($6.18 billion, or 5.4 per cent). — VNS