Men work on the assembly line at a Piaggio scooter and motorcycle factory in Vietnam's northern Vinh Phuc province, outside Hanoi on July 11. The inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Vietnam rose an estimated 5.6 percent in the first half of this year from a year ago to $5.7 billion, a government agency said. Foreign companies' investment pledges into the country also increased 15.9 percent to $10.5 billion, the Planning and Investment Ministry's foreign investment agency said in a report. FDI inflows into the Southeast Asian nation peaked at $11.5 billion in 2008 and since then have been around $10 billion to $11 billion a year. Reuters/Kham