Foreign SMEs pour capital into Vietnam (Photo: VNA)

Of the total, over 3 billion USD came from 522 newly-licensed projects, up 62% in a number of projects but down 6% in capital compared to the same period last year. Among these new projects, the combined capital of under-1-million USD projects accounted for only 2.2% of the total newly-registered investment.

Meanwhile, some 1.2 billion USD was added to 228 existing ones, representing a hike of 3% in a number of projects and a decline of 70.3% year on year in capital.

However, foreign investors' capital contribution and share purchases rose 4% year-on-year to 798 million USD, the FIA said.

A survey from the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) shows that more than 60% of respondents said that their company would expand their business in Vietnam in the next two years, a higher proportion compared to any other ASEAN country.

Nakajima Takeo, JETRO chief representative in Hanoi, said that there is a trend of Japanese SMEs increasing their investment in the coming time.

Although the investment is not big, SMEs over the globe, especially those from Japan, own a lot of advanced technologies and hold not small market shares, he said, proposing Vietnam have appropriate preferential policies to attract such businesses./.