HANOI, Vietnam — Foreign investment pledges in Vietnam are on pace to set a new annual record, surging by nearly 50 percent so far this year, officials said yesterday.

As of Nov. 20, overseas companies have agreed to invest $8.27 billion in Vietnam, which is set to open up its economy after it joins the World Trade Organization next month. That's up 47.4 percent from the same period last year, thanks to major projects like Intel's $1 billion chip plant in Ho Chi Minh City.

"This is much higher than what we expected," said Nguyen Thuy Huong, an official at the Ministry of Planning and Investment. "Our target for the whole year was only $6.5 billion."

Several major deals were announced earlier this month while Vietnam hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hanoi, which attracted heads of state and business executives from around the Pacific Rim.

Vietnam began shifting away from its centrally planned economy in the late 1980s, when it started implementing free market reforms. In 1988, it began accepting foreign investment, which peaked in 1996 at $8.5 billion.

If investment continues at its current pace, the 2006 total easily breaks that record.

Since the beginning of the year, 734 new projects have been licensed worth $6.15 billion, and companies have pledged to increase their investment in 439 existing projects by $2.12 billion.

Last year, the country licensed investment projects worth $6.8 billion, and foreign companies spent about $3 billion on projects in Vietnam.

"Vietnam has become a very hot spot for foreign investment," Huong said. "We expect 2006 to be a record-setting year."

Vietnam's economy grew by 8.4 percent last year, one of the highest rates in the world and the second-fastest in Asia after China.

The WTO approved Vietnam's application to the global trade body earlier this month. It will formally join 30 days after Vietnam's legislative National Assembly approves the agreement, which it is expected to do this week.