FDI capital realized highest in 5 years
According to the Statistics Office (Ministry of Finance), total registered foreign investment capital into Vietnam as of August 31, 2026 includes: Newly registered capital, adjusted registered capital and value of capital contribution and share purchase of foreign investors reached 40.63 billion USD, an increase of 55.4% compared to the same period last year.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong - Director of the Statistics Department said that noteworthy in the results of FDI attraction in the first 8 months of the year is that foreign direct investment carried out in Vietnam in the first 8 months of 2026 is estimated at 17.25 billion USD, an increase of 12% compared to the same period last year.
This is the highest realized foreign direct investment capital in 8 months in the past 5 years. In which, the processing and manufacturing industry continues to play a leading role with 14.24 billion USD, accounting for 82.6% of total realized FDI capital. Next is real estate business activities reaching 1.29 billion USD, accounting for 7.5%; production and distribution of electricity, gas, hot water, steam and air conditioning reaching 622.9 million USD, accounting for 3.6%" - Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong informed.
Dr. Nguyen Anh Tuan - Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Foreign Investment Enterprises (VAFIE) - said that the strong increase in FDI capital flows reflects the increasingly strengthened confidence of investors in Vietnam's economic prospects. Vietnam is maintaining a high growth rate, with GDP in the first 6 months of 2026 increasing by 8.18% and setting a growth target for the whole year at 10%.
Dr. Nguyen Anh Tuan said that the investment environment is undergoing significant changes from the process of institutional reform. A series of important resolutions of the Politburo have been issued, including recently Resolution No. 10-NQ/TW on economic development with foreign investment capital. Along with that, many laws and decrees related to investment and business activities are being amended and supplemented by the National Assembly and the Government in the direction of removing bottlenecks, improving the business environment and creating more favorable conditions for businesses.
Along with institutional reform, infrastructure continues to be invested and upgraded, especially the highway system, seaports and logistics. These are factors of direct significance to production costs, goods circulation and connectivity of FDI projects with domestic and international supply chains.
Welcoming high-quality FDI through institutional and infrastructure reforms
The viewpoint and direction of attracting FDI are identified in Resolution 10 of the Politburo, aiming to improve production capacity, increase linkages with the domestic economic sector, promote technology transfer, human resource training and deeply participate in the global supply chain.
FDI capital is very necessary to supplement capital for development investment to achieve double-digit growth, but it must be new generation, high-quality FDI, suitable for the country's socio-economic development strategy in the new period. To achieve the set goals, it is necessary to soon synchronously implement the basic solutions set out in Resolution 10.
Dr. Nguyen Anh Tuan said that it is necessary to soon institutionalize the viewpoints set out in Resolution 10, creating a legal basis to gradually shift from traditional investment incentives based on input to investment support mechanisms associated with project operational efficiency, especially in technology transfer, domestic supplier development, improving the localization rate, green transformation, digital transformation...
Maintain macroeconomic stability and strongly improve the investment environment by promptly removing bottlenecks and barriers in investment procedures, clean land funds, taxes, customs, training and supply of human resources, and providing clean energy to meet the requirements of high-tech projects, especially data centers and semiconductor industries...
Along with negotiating reciprocal trade agreements with the United States, it is necessary to strengthen the supervision of rules of origin for FDI enterprises, especially electronics, machinery, wood, steel, textiles, and footwear industries. Ensuring "Vietnamese origin" contributes to increasing the localization rate and increasing linkages between the FDI sector and domestic enterprises.
Soon build a synchronous foreign investment ecosystem, especially associated with the construction of the Financial Center (IFC) in Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and the development of free trade zones, economic zones, industrial parks and high-tech zones.
