Mr Trong made the statement at an investment promotion forum on agriculture and rural development in the northern province of Lao Cai on July 29, which was attended by 150 foreign and domestic enterprises.

Over past years, the region's authorities have made increasing efforts to speed up administrative procedures reforms to attract more investment capital, he said.

However, the region's investment attraction, especially foreign direct investment (FDI) has yet to match its potentials, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Planning Department

As of last year, the area attracted 420 foreign-invested projects worth US$6.24 billion, making up only 3.2 percent of the total FDI registered in the country during the period.

Meanwhile, it also drew a total domestic investment capital of VND203 trillion (US$9.85 billion) into 13,648 projects. But the investment accounted for only 2.6 percent of the country's total domestic investment capital.

Most of these projects were small-scale with modest investment capital, the department said, adding that few of them went into the agriculture sector.

Investors at the forum agreed that it is risky to make investments in the agriculture sector due to its distance from a big economic centre, inadequate infrastructure, lack of skilled labour and insufficient investment incentives.