FDI attraction up 40.5% in four months As of April 20, as many as 734 newly-registered projects were granted with investment certificates with a total registered capital of US$4.88 billion, equal to 96% of the same period last year, according to the Foreign Investment Agency, under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.   345 projects increased US$4.36 billion in capital, a year-on-year increase of 241.8%. Foreign investors spent US$1.35 billion contributing capital to and purchasing shares from local firms, up 106.8%. The total registered and additional capital in four months reached US$10.95 billion, up 40.5%. As of April 20, US$4.8 billion in FDI were disbursed, up 3.2%. The export value of the foreign-invested sector attained US$44.05 billion (including crude oil), up 16.1% and accounting for 71.82% of the total export value. The processing and manufacturing sector took the lead in attracting FDI with US$7.36 billion, accounting for 69.53%. The mining and retails sales sectors occupied the second and third positions with US$1.28 billion and US$546.68 million, making up 12% and 5.16%, respectively. Among 83 nations and territories investing in Viet Nam, the Republic of Korea was the largest investor with US$4.05 billion, accounting for 38.25%. It was followed by Japan and Singapore with US$1.85 billion and US$1.1 billion, respectively. The northern province of Bac Ninh led in attracting FDI with US$2.7 billion, making up 25.51%, followed by the southern provinces of Binh Duong and Kien Giang with US$1.53 billion and US$1.28 billion, respectively. VGP