Foreign direct investment in Tunisia increased by 7.6 percent in the first 10 months of 2010, the official TAP news agency said on Monday.

Analysis of the flow of foreign direct investment reveals a strong focus on energy and manufacturing industries with respective values of 1,050 million Tunisian dinars (around 700 million U.S. dollars) and 4,292 million dinars (some 280 million U. S. dollars).

During the same period, some 170 new foreign companies have settled in the country, providing 12,387 posts, mostly in manufacturing industry, added TAP.