Vietnam attracts $40.63bn in FDI in eight months

Vietnam attracted US$40.63 billion in registered foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first eight months of 2026, up 55.4% year-on-year, the National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Finance reported on September 3.

The figure includes $21.72 billion in capital from 2,771 newly licensed projects.

Notably, the number of new projects rose only 9.4% while their registered capital surged 96.8%, indicating a significant increase in average project size and investors’ stronger commitment from the outset.

The processing and manufacturing sector remained the largest recipient of FDI, attracting $12.15 billion, or 55.9% of the total newly registered capital. Electricity, gas, water and air-conditioner production and distribution ranked second with $3.13 billion, accounting for 14.4%.

Among 73 countries and territories with newly licensed projects, Asian investors continued to dominate. Singapore led with $7.62 billion, making up 35.1% of the new registered capital, followed by the Republic of Korea with $5.67 billion (26.1%). Hong Kong (China), mainland China and Japan ranked next with $2.96 billion, $1.93 billion and $1.42 billion, respectively.

Meanwhile, 819 existing projects increased their investment capital by a combined $12.21 billion, up 14.7% year-on-year.

Including both new and additional capital, the processing and manufacturing sector attracted $20.18 billion, accounting for 59.5%. Meanwhile, real estate business received $5.32 billion, or 15.7%.

During the eight months, there were 2,062 capital contribution and share purchase transactions worth $6.7 billion, up 50.1%. Of this amount, foreign investors spent $4.15 billion acquiring existing shares without increasing companies’ charter capital, compared with $2.55 billion used to increase charter capital.

FDI through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is also shifting away from real estate toward knowledge-intensive sectors and the domestic consumer market. Professional, scientific and technological activities attracted $2.74 billion, or 40.9%, followed by wholesale, retail and motor vehicle repair with $2.01 billion (30%).

Notably, FDI disbursement was estimated at $17.25 billion, up 12% from a year earlier and also the highest eight-month figure recorded over the last five years.

The processing and manufacturing sector accounted for $14.24 billion, or 82.6%, of the disbursed capital, far exceeding real estate that ranked second with $1.29 billion (7.5%) and energy with $622.9 million (3.6%).

Meanwhile, Vietnamese investment abroad, including newly registered and additional capital, reached $2.62 billion, 4.7 times higher than a year earlier. This consisted of $1.21 billion for 113 new projects and $1.41 billion for 29 existing projects, representing increases of 2.8 and 10.9 times, respectively.

Transport and warehousing attracted the largest share of Vietnamese capital overseas at $601.7 million (23%), followed by energy with $585.8 million.

Laos was the top destination for Vietnamese investment with $667.5 million, followed by Cambodia with $486.5 million. India and Indonesia also emerged as major destinations, receiving $323.9 million and $313.6 million, respectively, reflecting Vietnamese businesses’ expanding global investment footprint, the office said.