Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam attracted 38.06 billion USD in registered foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first seven months of 2026, up 58% year-on-year, the National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Finance reported on August 3.
The figure includes newly registered capital, additional investment for existing projects, and capital contributions through share purchases.
The NSO also reported that realised FDI reached an estimated 15.2 billion USD during the January-July period, an increase of 11.8% from a year earlier and the highest seven-month disbursement recorded over the past five years.
More than 82.6% of the disbursed capital, equivalent to 12.55 billion USD, was channelled into the processing and manufacturing sector.
Newly registered FDI posted particularly strong growth. During the period, Vietnam licensed 2,429 new projects with total registered capital of 21.05 billion USD. While the number of projects rose 7.8% year-on-year, newly registered capital more than doubled, 2.1 times higher than the level recorded in the same period last year.
Processing and manufacturing remained the largest recipient of new FDI, attracting 11.58 billion USD, or 55% of the total. Electricity, gas and water production and distribution ranked second with 3.13 billion USD, accounting for 14.9%.
Among 69 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, Singapore remained the largest source of newly registered capital with 7.5 billion USD, representing 35.6% of the total. It was followed by the Republic of Korea with 5.61 billion USD, Hong Kong (China) with 2.91 billion USD, and China with 1.73 billion USD.
Additional capital for existing projects also remained positive, with 666 projects increasing their investment by a combined 10.43 billion USD, up 4.4% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, capital contributions and share purchases totalled 6.58 billion USD through 1,815 transactions, soaring 61.6% compared with the same period last year. Most of the investment was directed to professional, scientific and technological activities, which attracted 2.68 billion USD, followed by the wholesale and retail sector with 1.96 billion USD.
The latest figures mark a sharp increase from the beginning of the year. In January, newly registered and adjusted FDI totalled just over 2.36 billion USD, while realised capital stood at about 1.48 billion USD.
The steady monthly rise in newly registered capital since then has pushed the total above 21 billion USD, reflecting stronger investor confidence, particularly in high-tech manufacturing, energy production and processing industries.
Vietnam's investment abroad also recorded robust growth in the first seven months. Total outbound investment, including newly registered and adjusted capital, reached 2.36 billion USD, 4.5 times higher than the figure a year earlier.
New overseas investment licences were granted to 106 projects worth 1.17 billion USD, up 2.9 times year-on-year, while additional capital for existing overseas projects reached 1.19 billion USD, a 9.2-fold increase.
Outbound investment was concentrated on transport and warehousing, which accounted for 601.7 million USD or 25.5% of the total, and electricity and gas production and distribution with 585.8 million USD, or 24.8%.
Laos remained the largest destination for Vietnamese investment, receiving 638.3 million USD, equivalent to 27% of the total, followed by Cambodia with 449.9 million USD and Indonesia with 308.6 million USD. More distant markets such as India, the Philippines and Kazakhstan are also increasingly attracting Vietnamese investors./.
