Hanoi: Vietnam had attracted 6.17 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) as of March 20, a year-on-year rise of 13.4%, according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment. Specifically, in the period, 644 new projects with total registered capital of 4.77 billion USD were granted investment certificates, up 23.4% in the number of projects, and 57.9% in value year-on-year. A total of 934.6 million USD was registered to be added to 248 existing projects and 466.2 million USD earmarked for stake purchase and capital contribution. The disbursed foreign investment rose by 7.1% in the first quarter to reach 4.63 billion USD, a signal that the disbursement will continue the positive trend, the agency said. Foreign investors poured capital into 17 out of 21 economic sectors, among which, the manufacturing and processing industry took the lead with total registered capital of 3.93 billion USD, a slight decrease of 1.3% from the same period last year. The real estate se ctor came second with total registered capital of 1.58 billion USD, 2.1 times higher than the figure of the same period last year, followed by the wholesale and retail industry and science and technology with investment of 224.8 million USD and 190.2 million USD, respectively. The foreign investment influx came from 62 countries and territories. Singapore was the biggest investor in Vietnam in the period with total registered capital of over 2.55 billion USD, up by 51.3%, followed by Hong Kong (China) with 1.05 billion USD, 2.3 times higher. The capital city of Hanoi was the top FDI destination with an influx of 970.8 million USD, rising by 6.1 times over the same period last year, followed by northern Bac Ninh province with 745.2 million USD./. Source: Vietnam News Agency