Vietnam’s overseas investment approximated 416.8 million USD during the first nine months of 2023, rising 4.6% year on year, reported the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Vietnamese carmaker Vinfast's headquarters in the US.

Of the amount, over 244.8 million USD was registered for 84 new projects, equivalent to 70.5% of the value posted in the same period last year, while more than 171.96 million USD was added to 18 existing ones, surging 3.38-fold.

Vietnamese investors poured money into 14 sectors abroad during the nine months. The wholesale and retail sector topped the list with nearly 150.64 million USD, accounting for 36.1% of the total, channelled into 26 new projects and six existing ones.

The information and communications sector ranked second with over 114.35 million USD, or 27.4%. It was followed by electricity production and distribution, agro-forestry-fisheries, and processing - manufacturing, statistics show.

Among the 24 countries and territories recording Vietnamese investments during the period, Canada took the lead with over 150.2 million USD (36%) poured into one new project and one existing project there, followed by Singapore, Laos, and Cuba.

As of September 20, Vietnam had 1,667 valid overseas investment projects with combined capital of nearly 22.1 billion USD. They include 141 projects worth almost 11.67 billion USD of State-invested enterprises, making up 52.8%.

The investments concentrated on mining (31.5%) and agro-forestry-fisheries (15.5%). Meanwhile, the biggest destinations of Vietnamese investments were Laos (24.7%), Cambodia (13.3%), and Venezuela (8.3%), according to the FIA.