HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam pulled in nearly US$24.1 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first seven months of 2025, a 27.3 per cent surge year-on-year driven by strong investor confidence, the Ministry of Finance’s National Statistics Office (NSO) reported on Wednesday.

The FDI inflows — covering newly registered and adjusted capital as well as capital contribution through share purchases — included $10 billion registered for 2,254 new projects. The figures show a year-on-year rise of 15.2 per cent in projects, though registered capital dropped 11.1 per cent, showing that investors have continued to flock to Việt Nam but are making smaller deals.

Factories were the big winners, with manufacturing and processing snagging 55.9 per cent ($5.6 billion) of the newly-registered capital, while real estate scooped up 23.5 per cent ($2.4 billion).

Singapore led the charge among 74 countries and territories, pouring in $2.8 billion, or 28.3 per cent of the new capital total. Mainland China followed with nearly $2.3 billion, Sweden added $1 billion and traditional partners like Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong also kept the cash flowing, proving Việt Nam’s broad appeal across Asia and beyond.

A bright spot was the dramatic 95.3 per cent surge in adjusted capital, with 920 existing projects pumping in an additional $10 billion. This sharp increase signaled strong confidence in Việt Nam’s business environment and economic prospects. Global corporations are scaling up production and tech upgrades, betting big on Việt Nam as a stable and promising base for sustainable growth.

When combining new and adjusted capital, manufacturing and processing ruled with $12.1 billion, or 60.6 per cent of the total FDI, followed by real estate at nearly $5 billion, equivalent to 24.7 per cent.

Share purchases and capital contributions jumped 61 per cent year on year to $4.1 billion via 1,982 transactions, targeting manufacturing (39.3 per cent) and professional, scientific and technological activities (20.3 per cent), showing foreign investors’ interest in high-value, knowledge-driven sectors.

Việt Nam disbursed $13.6 billion in FDI, up 8.4 per cent, marking the biggest seven-month sum in five years, fuelling jobs and growth as promises turn into action.

Vietnamese firms are also going global, with outward investment skyrocketing over 200 per cent to $398.9 million. Total overseas investment, including newly registered and adjusted capital, hit $528.5 million, a 3.5-fold leap year-on-year.

Electricity and gas production took the lead (21 per cent), followed by transport and warehousing (20.6 per cent) and wholesale and retail (14.8 per cent). Laos was the biggest recipient of Vietnamese investment, grabbing $150.3 million (28.4 per cent), followed by the Philippines and Indonesia. — VNS