HANOI, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam attracted 24.81 billion U.S. dollars in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first five months of this year, up 34.9 percent year on year, local media VnEconomy reported Thursday, citing the National Statistics Office (NSO).

The Southeast Asian country licensed 1,576 new projects with a total registered capital of 14.84 billion dollars, up 1.7 percent in number and 2.1-fold in value compared to the same period last year, the report said.

During the five months, disbursed FDI capital in Vietnam was estimated at 9.75 billion dollars, up 9.6 percent year on year, marking the highest level recorded for the period in the past five years, the report added.

Manufacturing and processing remained the leading sector, attracting 8.06 billion dollars, equivalent to 82.7 percent of total disbursed FDI, according to the NSO.

Singapore was the largest investor with 6.8 billion dollars, accounting for 45.9 percent of the total, followed by South Korea with 4.22 billion dollars and China with 1.79 billion dollars. ■