HCM City (VNA)🌺 – Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into Ho Chi Minh City rebounded strongly in the first seven months of 2025, reaching nearly 6.2 billion USD, up 45.67% year-on-year after a slowdown last year.

The sharp increase underscores renewed confidence among foreign investors and signals a positive economic outlook for Vietnam’s southern largest economic hub. According to Nguyen Cong Vinh, Director of the municipal Department of Finance, the figure covers both newly-licensed projects, share purchases, capital contributions, and acquisitions of stakes in domestic enterprises. From January to July, the city licenced 1,073 new FDI projects with combined registered capital of nearly 1.3 billion USD. Meanwhile, 296 existing projects increased their capital by a total of 2.37 billion USD. In addition, 1,323 transactions involving foreign investors acquiring stakes in local companies accounted for another 2.52 billion USD. Export processing zones and industrial parks also maintained robust capital inflows, attracting 2.43 billion USD by the end of July. This included 133 new projects worth nearly 1.1 billion USD and 106 capital-adjustment projects adding 1.33 billion USD. Notably, more than 1 billion USD of new and expanded investment flowed into the high-tech sector, affirming the city’s development direction. Major projects include BE Semiconductor Industries N.V.’s 42 million USD microchip equipment manufacturing plant, Amazon Data Services Vietnam’s additional 48 million USD investment, and GSK Vietnam’s 133 million USD capital increase. Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Van Duoc called FDI attraction a “bright spot” in the city’s economic performance so far this year. Recent months have seen frequent engagement with multinational corporations such as Intel (US), AEON (Japan), and GS Engineering & Construction (the Republic of Korea), as well as foreign delegations from Kazakhstan and Argentina. The city has also conducted investment promotion trips to Singapore and Malaysia and attended major international trade fairs. The rebound contrasts sharply with 2024, when total FDI stood at only 2.2 billion USD, down nearly 40% from 2023, partly due to a shortage of industrial land. That constraint was eased from July 1, 2025, when Ho Chi Minh City merged administrative boundaries with neighbouring Binh Duong and Ba Ria–Vung Tau provinces, opening new growth space. Each former locality brings distinct advantages. Ho Chi Minh City remains a centre for finance, high-end services, technology, education, and innovation. Binh Duong contributes strengths in manufacturing, modern industrial parks, and a transparent investment environment. Ba Ria–Vung Tau offers energy resources, deep-water ports, and high-end tourism. Together, they form an integrated, inter-regional value chain for production, logistics, consumption, and premium services. The city now targets attracting about 10.44 billion USD in FDI for 2025, with former Ho Chi Minh City expected to contribute 7 billion USD; former Binh Duong province, 1.8 billion USD; and former Ba Ria–Vung Tau, 1.64 billion USD. Authorities are accelerating key infrastructure and development projects, including Vietnam International Financial Centre, a coastal road, Thu Thiem - Long Thanh railway, major logistics hubs, and flood prevention systems to boost competitiveness and appeal to high-quality investors. Municipal leaders reaffirm their commitment to maintaining consistent investment incentives, streamlining procedures, and improving transparency. Experts stress that in today’s competitive FDI landscape, the decisive factor is no longer who offers the most incentives, but which locality delivers the fastest, clearest, and most reliable support to investors./.