April 2 - FDI worth US$1.85 billion was injected into Ho Chi Minh in 2008’s first quarter, with almost 98 percent of it going to real estate and consultancy. This represents a 78 percent gain in capital compared with the same period in 2007.

With stocks in the doldrums and volatile gold prices, many investors saw property development as their best bet early this year. Industrial production, transport, warehouses, and telecom also remain popular projects.

A total of 95 FDI projects have been licensed in Ho Chi Minh City so far for 2008, or which 27 are JV projects totaling US$890 million, and 68 are wholly foreign-invested, totaling US$958 million. The city has 2,731 FDI project altogether, worth some US$19 billion.

South Korea represents Ho Chi Minh City’s largest foreign investor, with 601 projects worth US$2.85 billion, comprising 15 percent of the city’s total FDI. However, Singapore-based CapitaLand recently announced a US$500 million housing project to be built on 6.7 hectares of prime real estate in the city, slated for launch in the second quarter of 2009.