In the period, Vietnam imported US$22.55 billion worth of machinery, equipment and parts while exporting only US$8.29 billion of those products, resulting in a deficit of US$14.26 billion. The General Statistics Office reported that the number of new firms in the manufacturing and processing sector rose 22.1% from the same period last year and their total registered capital went up 98.7%. The sector also attracted a substantial amount of foreign direct investment, with US$8.39 billion poured into newly-licensed projects. The import of computers, electronic products and parts in the ten months reached US$22.7 billion while export of those products fetched only US$14.79 billion, translating into a US$7.91 billion trade deficit. It is noteworthy that this sector saw a high inventory index, which as of October 1 went up 45% from the same period last year. A deficit of US$1.83 billion was also seen in the trading of gas and oil, with 9.52 million tonnes of petrol and oil imported in ten months, while 6 million tonnes of crude oil were exported. Vietnam reported a US$3.52 billion trade surplus in the 10-month period, with major foreign currency earners being phones and phone parts, electronic goods, textile and garments, computers, machinery and equipment, foot wear and aquatic products. Phones and phone parts brought in an estimated US$28.3 billion, up more than 10% year on year, while textile and garments earned nearly US$20 billion, an increase of 5.2%. The export value of agro-forestry-fishery products reached US$26.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.3%.