First Eight Months Of 2026: FDI Inflows Into Vietnam Surpass USD 40 Billion

During the first eight months of 2026, total registered foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam, including newly registered capital, additional investment capital, and capital contributions/share purchases – recorded a strong breakthrough, surpassing the USD 40 billion mark…

According to newly released data from the National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Finance, as of the end of August 2026, total registered FDI in Vietnam reached USD 40.63 billion, including newly registered capital, adjusted capital, and capital contributions/share purchases, representing an increase of 55.4% year-on-year.

Of this amount, newly registered capital reached USD 21.72 billion, across 2,771 newly licensed projects. Notably, while the number of projects increased by only 9.4%, registered capital surged by 96.8% year-on-year, indicating a significant increase in the average scale of newly registered projects. This suggests that investors are increasingly willing to commit substantial capital from the initial stage.

The processing and manufacturing industry continued to attract the largest share of FDI, with USD 12.15 billion, accounting for 55.9% of total newly registered capital. This was followed by electricity, gas, water supply, and air-conditioning production and distribution, with USD 3.13 billion, or 14.4%.

Among the 73 countries and territories with newly licensed projects in Vietnam, Asia continued to lead. Singapore maintained its top position with USD 7.62 billion, accounting for 35.1% of total newly registered capital. South Korea ranked second with USD 5.67 billion (26.1%), followed by Hong Kong SAR (China) with USD 2.96 billion, mainland China with USD 1.93 billion, and Japan with USD 1.42 billion.

Alongside the increase in new capital inflows, expansion investment also recorded growth. During the first eight months of 2026, 819 existing projects licensed in previous years registered additional investment capital totaling USD 12.21 billion, up 14.7% year-on-year.

Combining newly registered and additional investment capital, the processing and manufacturing industry attracted as much as USD 20.18 billion, accounting for 59.5%, while the real estate business sector attracted USD 5.32 billion, or 15.7%.

Regarding capital contributions and share purchases, 2,062 transactions were carried out, with a total value of USD 6.7 billion, representing a sharp increase of 50.1%. Interestingly, foreign investors spent as much as USD 4.15 billion acquiring existing domestic shares without increasing charter capital, compared with USD 2.55 billion invested to increase charter capital.

Notably, M&A capital flows are no longer concentrated heavily in real estate as in previous years. Instead, they are increasingly targeting knowledge-intensive sectors and the domestic consumer market. Specifically, professional, scientific, and technological activities led with USD 2.74 billion (40.9%), followed by wholesale, retail, and motor vehicle repair, which attracted USD 2.01 billion (30%).

Particularly noteworthy, disbursed FDI in Vietnam during the first eight months of 2026 was estimated at USD 17.25 billion, up 12% from the same period in 2025. This was the highest FDI disbursement recorded for the first eight months of a year over the past five years.

Of the USD 17.25 billion injected into the economy, the processing and manufacturing industry continued to dominate, attracting USD 14.24 billion (82.6%), far ahead of the second-largest sector, real estate business, with USD 1.29 billion (7.5%), and energy, with USD 622.9 million (3.6%).

In the opposite direction, Vietnam’s total outward investment, including both newly registered and adjusted capital, reached USD 2.62 billion during the first eight months of 2026, which was 4.7 times higher than in the same period last year.

This strong growth was driven by 113 newly licensed projects with total investment capital of USD 1.21 billion, or 2.8 times the level recorded in the same period last year. In particular, 29 projects registered increases in investment capital, totaling USD 1.41 billion, or 10.9 times the year-earlier figure.

Rather than focusing primarily on agriculture or conventional trading activities, Vietnamese investment capital is now flowing more strongly into transportation and warehousing, which attracted USD 601.7 million (23%). The energy sector also recorded strong growth, attracting USD 585.8 million.

In terms of investment destinations, Laos ranked first with USD 667.5 million, followed by Cambodia with USD 486.5 million. Notably, Vietnamese businesses are expanding into larger and high-potential markets such as India (USD 323.9 million) and Indonesia (USD 313.6 million), laying the groundwork for broader and deeper global expansion in the years ahead.