Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam has stood at over eight billion U.S. dollars since the beginning of this year, exceeding the target of 6.5 billion dollars set for 2006.

Of the investment, one billion dollars comes from Intel, the world's biggest chipmaker, and 556 million dollars from Chinese Taiwanese firm Tycoons Worldwide Steel, according to the Foreign Investment Department under Vietnam's Ministry of Planning and Investment on Tuesday.

To lure more FDI, the Vietnamese government and localities will create a more liberal investment environment and lower fee charges, especially those on telecommunications and air transport services, deputy minister of Planning and Investment Tran Dinh Khien said at a recent press conference.

Vietnam attracted nearly 5.9 billion U.S. dollars worth of FDI in 2005, up 40.2 percent over 2004. As of Oct. 20, it housed 6,761 foreign-invested projects with total registered capital of over 57. 3 billion dollars, said the department.

Source: Xinhua