FDI inflows to Vietnam have increased considerably since the country authorised foreign investments back in 1988, and it reached record levels in 2010 and 2011. The social-political stability of the country is one of its main assets. Although FDI was affected by the global economic crisis, showing a drop in 2009, the policy of economic openness has since 2010 resulted in growing investor attraction: the FDI flows increased to $11 billion in 2011 (they were less than $2 billion at the beginning of the 2000s) and the levels of investment have remained high since then.