TUNIS- Foreign direct investment in Tunisia rose by 27 percent in the first quarter this year compared with a year earlier, official figures showed on Thursday, as the government seeks to cut red tape to attract new investment.

The figure for the period from January to March was 560 million dinars ($230 million), the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency said. The figure was driven by industrial investment, which grew by 45 percent.

Tunisia, which last year set up a new investment law, is trying to attract foreign investors after years of stagnation due to strikes and the fragile security situation since the 2011 uprising that unseated veteran ruler Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.

The new law gives foreign investors more flexibility to transfer funds, including profits, out of the country.

It also establishes a fund for investment which will help finance infrastructure projects, and funding to spur investors to launch big projects in marginalised areas of the country.

In its first report on the North African country's economy, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said last month urged Tunisia to improve its business climate and cut red tape to attract more investment and create jobs.

Prime Minister Youssef Chahed last week ordered the cancellation of the many administrative licences that hinder the government's efforts to attract investors. This week, some documents required for projects became available online. ($1 = 2.4291 Tunisian dinars)

(Reporting by Tarek Amara Editing by Alison Williams) ((tarek.amara@thomsonreuters.com;))