Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) – From the beginning of 2026 to mid-August, export processing and industrial zones in the southern economic hub attracted more than 5.14 billion USD poured into new and existing investment projects, exceeding the full-year target by 21.05%, reported the Ho Chi Minh City Exporting Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA).

HEPZA said foreign direct investment (FDI) channeled into 87 newly licensed and 105 existing projects stood at over 3.16 billion USD and 878.42 million USD, respectively, surpassing 4.04 billion USD in total.

FDI inflows have not only come from new projects but also from existing businesses scaling up their investments. This demonstrates that alongside their ability to attract new investors, the local export processing and industrial zones continue to create favourable conditions for existing enterprises to expand their production and business activities.

Domestic investment, meanwhile, exceeded 28.6 trillion VND, equivalent to over 1.1 billion USD. Of this, 74 newly licensed projects posted a total registered capital of more than 10.07 trillion VND, while 44 projects registered capital increases worth over 18.53 trillion VND.

Alongside investment attraction, land and factory leasing activities have also continued to perform at a high level. Specifically, in nearly eight months, 673.42 hectares of land was leased while the area of rented factory space reached approximately 483,977 square metres.

According to HEPZA, as of mid-August, the city’s export processing and industrial zones were home to more than 5,410 valid investment projects, with combined registered capital surpassing 81.7 billion USD. Of these, more than 3,220 were FDI projects worth over 60 billion USD, and 2,187 were domestic ones worth more than 399.17 trillion VND, equivalent to 21.7 billion USD.

Notably, of the more than 5,410 valid projects, 4,850 were already operational. In addition, 150 projects were under construction, 326 were undergoing procedures required for implementation, and 85 temporarily suspended operations.

The workforce employed in the city’s export processing and industrial zones stood at 919,446, with women accounting for 53.51% and workers from other localities about 68.3% of the total./.