metfone - Viettel's branch in Cambodia. Photo: Vietnam Economic News

Vietnamese firms invested US$36.9 million abroad in January, a 11.7-fold year-on-year, the Ministry of Planning and Investment said.

During the period, investment licenses were granted to 15 projects worth some $44.2 million, 14 times higher than last year’s figure.

Capital outflows were mainly poured into nine industries, especially mining ($35.54 million), financial and banking ($9.19 million), wholesale and retail, transportation and warehousing.

Laos was the largest recipient of Vietnamese overseas investment in the month, accounting for 25% of the total, followed by the US, China, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Japan.

As of January 20, Vietnam had run 1,463 valid overseas projects with total investment of over $20.9 billion.

Experts said amid the complicated developments of the Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnamese outbound investment has been on an upward trend, helping to elevate the status of local enterprises in international economic integration.

FDI to Vietnam predicted to surge in 2022. Photo: Ministry of Planning and Investment

Meanwhile, during the first two months of the year, Vietnam recorded $2.1 billion in new investment with $1.6 billion disbursed, respectively 6.8% and 4.2% increases from the same period last year.

According to the Department of Foreign Investment, 71 FDI projects have applied to increase their investment in recent months, a positive sign for the manufacturing sector as it shows a strong effort to speed up recovery by firms.

An increase in the number of new projects and investment in existing projects shows the strong confidence of foreign firms in the country's investment environment./.

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