HCM City draws over USD 5.3 billion into industrial parks in 2025. Illustrative photo
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority, more than 470 hectares of land and about 492,000 square metres of factory space were leased during the year. Total investment rose 0.37 per cent year on year.
Foreign direct investment reached more than USD 3.39 billion, down 7.09 per cent from 2024. This included 210 newly licensed projects with registered capital of USD 1.93 billion, a drop of 44.32 per cent, while additional capital from 179 existing projects jumped 74.53 per cent to USD 1.99 billion.
Hong Kong topped the list by number of newly licensed projects, with 66 projects worth nearly USD 392 million. It was followed by mainland China with 36 projects totalling more than USD 247 million. Singapore recorded the largest amount of new investment capital, exceeding USD 415 million across 24 projects.
The sectors attracting the most foreign investment were mechanical engineering, with 52 projects worth more than USD 258.5 million, electronics with 21 projects totalling over USD 210 million, and plastics and rubber with 22 projects valued at more than USD 80 million.
Domestic investment reached more than VND 48 trillion (approximately USD 1.9 billion), up 16.96 per cent year on year. This included 99 new projects worth VND 33.6 trillion and 52 projects registering additional capital of VND 14.3 trillion.
HEPZA reported a positive shift in the structure of foreign investment, with capital increasingly flowing into priority industries. Mechanical engineering accounted for 18.5 per cent of total FDI, while chemicals made up 15.2 per cent. Domestic investment also maintained strong momentum, rising nearly 17 per cent compared with 2024.
Among newly licensed domestic projects, real estate accounted for the largest share of capital at 56.2 per cent, or VND 18.9 trillion. Mechanical engineering and food processing followed, representing 9.59 per cent and 8.21 per cent, respectively.
HEPZA director Bui Minh Tri said surpassing the 2025 investment target by mid December had laid a strong foundation for economic breakthroughs in the coming period.
In 2026, the authority plans to strengthen business linkages, improve information support for enterprises and workers, restructure key industries towards high tech development, and develop eco industrial parks and new generation smart zones once approved by the municipal authorities.