With foreign direct investment (FDI) disbursement reaching a record high of approximately US$25.35 billion last year, strong FDI inflows are expected into Vietnam this year, particularly in the manufacturing and high-tech sectors, according to insiders.
FDI disbursement hits record high in 2024
Vietnamese FDI last year reached nearly US$38.23 billion, ranking among the 15 developing countries attracting the largest FDI in the world.
Most notably, disbursed FDI capital hit an all-time high of US$25.35 billion, according to the assessment made by the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
Nguyen Thi Huong, general director of the General Statistics Office (GSO), pointed out that the high FDI disbursement shows the confidence of foreign investors in the local business environment. It also demonstrates that the FDI sector has been increasingly making significant contributions to the country’s overall economic growth.
In line with this, the nation has established an important position in terms of the world’s semiconductor industry chain map, attracting many large technology corporations, with the recent highlight being a co-operation agreement signed between the Vietnamese Government and NVIDIA Corporation.
Accordingly, the world's leading chip manufacturer NVIDIA has teamed up with the country to establish the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research and Development Center and the AI Data Center in Vietnam.
Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung pointed out that the FDI sector has emerged as an important pillar of the national economy, playing a key role in terms of the country’s trade surplus.
However, there remains limitations when it comes to linkages and collaboration efforts between FDI and domestic enterprises, which has not yet accelerated the development of management skills, technology transfer, the formation of supply chains of materials and industry clusters.
Moreover, the involvement of local enterprises in global production and supply chains has not witnessed a notable improvement.
Minister Dung has requested the continuation of policy packages in support of enterprises in an effort to promote new growth drivers such as chips, semiconductors, digital transformation, and green transformation.
He also called for improving the quality of human resources and to accelerate FDI attraction, develop new economic sectors, modernise technologies, invest in research activities, and enhance connectivity with domestic enterprises.
The Minister also stressed the need to strengthen economic dialogue, attract large FDI projects in new economic fields, and get further involved in the global value chain, as well as drawing up policies designed to strengthen connectivity whilst ramping up ties between domestic and FDI firms for the cause of mutual development.
In the 2025 macroeconomic outlook report, the National Financial Supervisory Commission forecasts that there will be strong FDI inflows into the country, especially into high-value manufacturing and technology sectors such as semiconductors, AI, digital transformation, logistics, and pharmaceuticals, with FDI disbursement this year likely exceeding US$30 billion.
A “bright star” among investment destinations
At recent economic forums, several international experts spoke highly of Vietnamese FDI attraction results and shared optimistic projections.
Shantanu Chakraborty, country director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Vietnam, said that strong FDI inflows coupled with high FDI disbursement have been the main driving force for Vietnamese economic growth.
With regard to growth prospects for this year, he emphasised that Vietnam remains a bright star in the Southeast Asian region in terms of economic growth and will continue to become a magnet for FDI attraction.
The ADB representative highlighted the importance of opportunities for the country when it comes to attracting FDI, especially in the fields of high technology and digital economy, noting that Vietnam needs to continue to address the labour shortage in the fields of high technology and AI as part of efforts to take the full advantage of these opportunities.
Meanwhile, Bruno Jaspaert, chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham Vietnam), revealed that European businesses remain confident in Vietnam's economic prospects, adding that the local economy will continue to grow with the country affirming its key role as an important link in trade and investment activities in the Southeast Asian region.
According to Jaspaert, the confidence of European firms can be attributed to economic reforms taking place domestically, as well as the country’s central role in the global trend of sustainable development.
“The growing confidence of European enterprises in Vietnam as an appealing investment destination highlights the country's strong foundation in trade and economic policies,” said the EuroCham chairman.
“Despite facing global challenges, Vietnam's favorable investment environment is generating new opportunities for European businesses, particularly in key sectors such as technology, manufacturing, tourism, and renewable energy,” he noted.
Jonathan Choi, chairman of the Hong Kong - Vietnam Chamber of Commerce, highlighted the great potential for co-operation with the nation, especially when it comes to promoting digital transformation and green growth.
He assessed that Vietnamese advantages in attracting FDI are its geographical location, young and dynamic population, along with favourable conditions for production and export activities.
Choi also stated that cooperation opportunities for developing high-speed railways, financial centres, and free trade zones, while also expressing his belief that other spheres like financial services, trade, education, agriculture, and logistics will see further co-operation results moving forward.