The factory of the Bowker Vietnam Garment Co. Ltd. in Dong An 1 Industrial Park of Thuan An city, Binh Duong province. (Photo: VNA)

Binh Duong (VNA) – Binh Duong province, a major industrial hub in the southern region, has still managed to attract over 1.5 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) so far this year despite considerable impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of the sum, more than 482 million USD has been poured into 44 new projects, over 799 million USD added to 23 existing projects, and 225.4 million USD spent on contributing capital to or buying stakes in 81 projects.

Notably, the province has recorded 14 million USD in FDI since September 15, when it returned to the new normal.

Up to 88 percent of the surveyed FDI firms in Binh Duong believed that their production and business situation in the fourth quarter will be stable or improve compared to Q3, while 12 percent said they will face difficulties, according to the latest survey conducted by local authorities.

Bui Minh Tri, Head of the Binh Duong Industrial Zones Authority, said as of October 28, 1,968 enterprises or over 96 percent those based in local industrial parks had resumed operations. Nearly 373,000 labourers (76 percent) have returned to work.

Companies have quickly restored production and business activities with COVID-19 prevention and control ensured, he noted.

During the first nine months of this year, the index of industrial production in Binh Duong grew 2.9 percent year on year while total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue rose 1.9 percent, compared to the respective increases of 6.7 percent and 10.9 percent in the same period of 2020.

The province posted a trade surplus of 4.62 billion USD in the nine-month period, compared to a surplus of 4.48 billion USD during January - September last year./.