Vietnam's outward investment reaches about 2.77 billion USD in nine months, 3.3 times a year earlier

Vietnamese investors committed about 2.77 billion USD to projects abroad in the first nine months of 2026, counting both new registrations and capital adjustments, according to Báo Chính phủ, the government's online newspaper. That is 3.3 times the level of the same period a year earlier. Transport, warehousing, energy and agriculture attracted most of the money.

The figure appeared in a Báo Chính phủ report on 26 October on the launch of the FChoice Awards 2026, an annual business award run by CafeF. This year's theme celebrates breakthrough growth and Vietnamese brands making their mark in international markets.

Capital moving both ways

On the inbound side, disbursed foreign direct investment (FDI) reached 21.1 billion USD in the nine months, the highest for that period in five years. On the outbound side, registered investment abroad more than tripled. The key figures cited by Báo Chính phủ are below; GDP and industrial output data come from the Statistics Office (Cục Thống kê) under the Ministry of Finance.

Table compiled by KBVN+ from Báo Chính phủ.

The gap between the last two rows stands out: the number of new firms barely grew, while the capital behind them rose about ten times as fast and average capital per firm climbed too, a sign that companies are starting out bigger.

The capital market also passed a milestone when FTSE Russell began its roadmap to upgrade Vietnam's stock market from frontier to secondary emerging status in September 2026, opening the door to larger international inflows. On innovation, the World Intellectual Property Organization's Global Innovation Index (GII) 2026 ranked Vietnam 43rd of 139 economies. WIPO noted that Vietnam has outperformed expectations for its level of development for 16 consecutive years and leads the world in high-tech exports as a share of total trade, measured against GDP at purchasing power parity.

Vietnamese firms going global

One example Báo Chính phủ highlighted is Viettel, which earned 3.34 billion USD in revenue from overseas operations in 2025 and is preparing to enter the Dominican Republic in 2026.

Behind the macro figures, Báo Chính phủ wrote, are companies looking for new markets, projects that drive growth and people changing how their organisations run. For Vietnamese businesses, fast-rising outward investment combined with better access to international capital from the stock market upgrade suggests that both routes, expanding abroad and raising money at home, have more room to grow.

The FChoice Awards, held every year since 2021, have 25 categories in five groups this year, covering breakthrough growth, global reach, technological progress, foundation-building and a readers' choice. The categories span business growth, international integration, technology, green finance, infrastructure and the next generation of leaders.

The judging panel includes former deputy foreign minister and ambassador to the United States Phạm Quang Vinh; economist Trần Đình Thiên, former head of the Vietnam Institute of Economics; Hà Thu Thanh, chair of the Vietnam Institute of Directors (VIOD); Nguyễn Văn Đính, vice chairman of the Vietnam Real Estate Association; Nguyễn Quang Thuân, chairman and CEO of FiinGroup and FiinRatings; and the CafeF editorial board.

What's next

Once the official shortlist is published, the awards follow this schedule:

For outward investment, full-year 2026 data will show whether the 3.3-fold pace of the first nine months holds through December.