Total outbound Vietnamese investment reached 431.7 million USD in the first nine months of this year, according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The largest share of Vietnamese investment was poured into wholesale and retail sector, and auto and motorbike repairs with 110.6 million USD, accounting for 25.6 percent of the total.

Coming second was science-technology with 83.4 million USD), followed by agriculture-forestry-fishery (64.1 million USD) and real estate (56.9 million USD).

Among the 30 countries and territories where Vietnamese investors landed during the period, Australia was the largest recipient with 140.6 million USD, making up 32.6 percent of the sum.

Other major destinations for Vietnamese investment included the US (59.9 million USD), Spain (59.8 million USD), Cambodia (50.6 million USD) and Singapore (35.6 million USD).

Vietnamese investors have also made efforts to gain footholds in promising markets in the Southeast Asian region.

Vietnamese investment in Cambodia in the first seven months topped 38.5 million USD, equivalent to the accumulative registered capital of the entire 2018, the Ministry of Planning and Investment revealed at the 17th meeting of the Vietnam-Cambodia Joint Committee on Cooperation in Economy, Culture and Science-Technology in Phnom Penh on August 21.

Cambodia ranks third among the 76 countries and territories where Vietnamese investors have been active. Vietnam is running 214 projects valued at 3.2 billion USD in the neighbouring country.

Vietnam is Cambodia’s fifth largest investor, after China, Thailand, the Republic of Korea and Japan, with capital mainly channeled into agriculture and forestry (2.1 billion USD), finance, banking and insurance (370.1 million USD) and telecom services (204.3 million USD).

Other spheres like aviation, mining, processing and manufacturing, warehouse services, health care, construction, tourism, hotels and real estate have also attracted Vietnamese firms.

About half of the total registered capital (1.5 billion USD) has to date been disbursed, and many projects are operational and generating profits.

Laos has lured the largest amount of Vietnamese investment over the years with 4.8 billion USD, while Russia is second with 2.8 billion USD.

Apart from Laos and Cambodia, Vietnamese businesses have highly valued prospects in Myanmar where they have invested in about 200 projects.

During his visit to Myanmar last June, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue said the country could become a strategic market, and suggested Myanmar create favourable conditions and ensure a safe environment for Vietnamese firms to operate.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group, the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, Viettel Military Industry and Telecom Group (Viettel) and FastGo, a ride-hailing start-up, are among the Vietnamese businesses to have made investment in Myanmar.