FDI inflows to Vietnam surge 42.9% in Q1

Of the total, 904 newly licensed projects registered combined capital of $10.23 billion, marking a 6.4% increase in the project number and a 2.4-fold rise in capital compared to the same period last year, according to the National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Finance.

Apartment buildings in eastern HCMC, December 2025. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

The manufacturing and processing sector continued to attract the lion’s share of new FDI, drawing $7.07 billion, equivalent to 69% of the newly registered capital. It was followed by electricity, gas, water and air conditioner production and distribution, which secured $2.28 billion, accounting for 22.3%. The remaining sectors posted $884.6 million, or 8.7%.

The disbursed FDI in the January–March period was estimated at $5.41 billion, up 9.1% year-on-year and the highest first-quarter figure recorded over the past five years.

Manufacturing and processing also dominated the disbursed capital, with $4.48 billion, representing 82.8% of the total. Real estate saw $389.5 million disbursed (7.2%) while electricity, gas, hot water, steam, and air conditioner production and distribution $196.1 million (3.6%).

Among the 52 countries and territories with newly licensed projects, Singapore remained the largest investor with $5.32 billion, making up 52% of total new capital. It was followed by the Republic of Korea with $3.68 billion (35.9%), China with $417.5 million (4.1%), Hong Kong (China) with $256.8 million (2.5%), Japan with $191.3 million (1.9%), and the US with $91.3 million (0.9%).

Meanwhile, 251 existing projects registered additional capital of $2.3 billion, down 55.1% year-on-year.

Combining both newly registered and additional capital, the manufacturing and processing sector attracted $8.85 billion, accounting for 70.6% of the total. Electricity, gas, water, and air conditioner production and distribution followed with $2.28 billion (18.2%), while other sectors drew $1.4 billion (11.2%).