The southern province of Long An led the country in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) capital in the first half of this year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic .

The province licensed 30 FDI projects with total investment capital of more than US$3.3 billion, of which over US$3 billion was poured into the Long An LNG power plants No 1 and 2.

In addition, Long An also issued investment licences to 77 domestic projects with total registered capital of nearly VND5.6 trillion (US$243 million).

According to the provincial People's Committee, relevant agencies have carried out a range of investment promotion activities, including arranging a trip for Japanese companies to local industrial parks and clusters, receiving a delegation of businesspeople from the Republic of Korea who came to explore the investment environment, and an event on the province's orientation for hi-tech economic zone development which attracted big corporations from the RoK, the US and Germany.

Local agencies have also inspected the pace of investment projects and promptly revoked licences of delayed projects.

The province will continue to work to improve the local business and investment environment through measures to increase the Provincial Competitive Index (PCI) and maintain its ranking in either the "good" or "very good" group. The provincial administration will keep close contact with investors in order to timely handle any difficulties and obstacles that arise during their project implementation.