Vietnam foreign investment to drop by up to 13 pct in 2009

VietBusinessNews - The flow of foreign direct investment into Viet Nam is projected to fall this year by up to 13% compared with 2008, reaching $10-11 billion, a newspaper on Wednesday quoted a senior state planner as saying.

Pledges of foreign direct investment, or FDI, which far outstrip actual disbursements, slumped 88% in January from the same month last year due to the global economic crunch, reaching $200 million, according to the Foreign Investment Agency at the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The Thanh Nien newspaper, quoting Phan Huu Thang, head of the agency, said the disbursement level would remain high despite an expected slump in pledges this year. It did not give further details.

Last year, $11.5 billion in FDI flowed into Viet Nam from pledges worth a record $64 billion, the newspaper Thanh Nien daily said.

Vietnam's gross domestic product growth slipped to 6.23% last year compared with 8.5% the year before. Many economists forecast growth of around 5% this year, although the government is aiming for 6-6.5%. (Reuters)