FDI Disbursement Hits 5-Year High

Vietnam continues to prove its appeal to foreign investment flows, exemplified by the strong growth in both registered capital and disbursed capital in the first seven months.

Vietnam remains an attractive destination for foreign investment

Arecent report released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Finance showed that the registered foreign investment in Vietnam totaled US$24.09 billion in the first seven months of 2025, representing a year-on-year growth of 27.3%. Amid global economic volatility, the foreign investment flow in the reporting period is a prominent bright spot.

The amount of US$24.09 billion came from three main components: newly registered capital, adjusted capital, and capital contribution and share purchases by foreign investors.

A deeper analysis showed that although the newly registered capital slightly decreased, the number of new projects increased significantly. Specifically, a total of 2,254 new projects were licensed with a total registered capital of US$10.03 billion, up 15.2% in projects but down 11.1% in value. This proved that new investors continued entering Vietnam despite smaller project sizes.

The processing and manufacturing sector continued to be the biggest recipient, accounting for 55.9% (US$5.61 billion) of the total new FDI fund, followed by real estate business with 23.5% (US$2.36 billion).

By partner, Singapore led among 74 countries and territories with newly licensed projects in Vietnam, with a total registered capital of US$2.84 billion, accounting for 28.3%. The next positions belonged to China (US$2.27 billion), Sweden (US$1 billion), and traditional investors such as Japan, Taiwan (China), and Hong Kong (China).

A particularly impressive and meaningful highlight in the January-July FDI picture was the sharp rise in revised capital. 920 existing projects registered to hike their investment fund, totaling US$9.99 billion, a dramatic 95.3% growth from the same period last year.

This demonstrates that investors in Vietnam have strong confidence in the country’s business environment and economic outlook. At the same time, major corporations have committed significant capital to expand production and upgrade technology, indicating both effective operations and a belief in Vietnam’s sustainable development potential.

Including both fresh and additional foreign investment, the processing and manufacturing sector reaffirmed its leadership with US$12.12 billion, accounting for 60.6% of the total. Real estate ranked second with US$4.95 billion or 24.7%.

Likewise, foreign capital contributions and share purchases also impressively grew. With 1,982 registered capital contribution and share purchase deals, the total value of capital contributions reached US$4.07 billion, up 61% year on year. This capital was mainly channeled into the processing and manufacturing sector (39.3%) and professional, scientific, and technological activities (20.3%), showing that foreign investors were not only interested in building factories but also sought to participate more deeply in knowledge-intensive sectors.

Another important indicator is FDI disbursement. From January to July, foreign investors disbursed about US$13.6 billion, up 8.4% year on year and highest in the January-July period in five years. This proved that investment commitments were quickly being translated into real business operations, creating jobs and contributing to economic growth.

While strongly drawing external capital, Vietnamese businesses are also becoming more confident in making inroads into the global market. In the first seven months of 2025, the registered outbound investment capital jumped more than 200% year on year to US$398.9 million.

Vietnam's outbound investment, including both fresh and adjusted capital, totaled US$528.5 million, 3.5 times higher than the same period of 2024.

The main investment fields of Vietnamese businesses included electricity and gas production and distribution (21%), transportation and warehousing (20.6%), and wholesaling and retailing (14.8%).

By destination, Laos continued to be the biggest destination, attracting US$150.3 million (accounting for 28.4%) of Vietnam's total outbound investment. Other Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines and Indonesia were also attractive destinations in the region.

Source: Vietnam Business Forum