The inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) from Singaporean investors to Viet Nam took the lead among those from other member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2014 with 1,353 existing projects worth $32.7 billion, according to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).

The FDI from Singapore, which ranked third among 101 foreign investors in Viet Nam during last year, made up 60% of the total FDI registered in the country, said the agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung during the VSIP Quang Ngai groundbreaking ceremony on September 13, 2013.

Singaporean-owned projects have proved effective, greatly contributing to Viet Nam’s job generation, export and economic growth during the past years, said FIA.

Specifically, the Viet Nam-Singapore (VSIP) Industrial Zone, including many facilities covering about 6,000 hectares across the country, is a symbol of the friendship and cooperation between the two countries, according to FIA.

Malaysia ranked second with 484 projects with a total investment of $10 billion, making up 19% of total projects and 22% of the total registered capital.

It is followed by Thailand with 371 projects with total investment of $6.7 billion, accounting for 14% of total projects and 12% of the total registered capital. Thailand is followed by Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines, Laos and Cambodia.

By the end of 2014, investors from ASEAN had 2,507 valid projects with total registered capital of US$53 billion, accounting for about 14% of total operational FDI projects and 20% of total foreign investment capital registered in Viet Nam.