Opportunities for Vietnam in the wave of production relocation

Although global foreign direct investment (FDI) flows are moving towards a state of adjustment - narrowing and focusing on quality, Vietnam still has opportunities in the wave of regional production repositioning. That is the reason why in the past 10 months, the total registered FDI capital in Vietnam reached over 31.5 billion USD.

FDI inflows into Vietnam are shifting from quantity to quality as the processing and manufacturing industry is always the sector attracting the most FDI. Photo: Duc Thanh. Graphics: Dan Nguyen

FDI capital accelerates, Vietnam affirms its position as an attractive destination

A series of FDI projects were granted new and expanded investment registration certificates in October 2025. These are the Chanh River Port Construction Investment Project of Infra Asia Investment Company Limited (Hong Kong), with a total registered capital of 149.5 million USD in Quang Ninh ; the Camera Electronic Circuit Board Manufacturing Project of Saigon STEC Company Limited (Japan) adjusted to increase capital by 150 million USD to raise the total registered capital to 450 million USD in Ho Chi Minh City; the Restaurant Business Project and Mobile Food Services of Oryz Boutique Company Limited (Malaysia) in the form of capital contribution to purchase shares, with a total contributed capital of 200 million USD in Ho Chi Minh City...

Although there are no billion-dollar projects, these large-scale projects have contributed significantly to bringing the total registered foreign investment capital in the first 10 months of 2025 to 31.5 billion USD, up 15.6% over the same period last year. And not only is the registered capital increasing, the disbursed capital also reached a record level in the past 5 years, up to 21.3 billion USD, up 8.8%.

“These figures show that Vietnam continues to be an attractive destination for foreign investors, and investors continue to believe in Vietnam's growth prospects, business investment environment and economic position,” said Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang when announcing the above figures at the recent Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) 2025.

This has in fact been affirmed for a long time and emphasized by many investors at VBF. Mr. Bruno Jaspaer, Chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) even mentioned Vietnam as a story of transformation from an agricultural economy , famous for its rice output for daily meals and coffee beans for every morning, to a regional center of manufacturing, technology and innovation.

Although there are no billion-dollar projects, large-scale projects have significantly contributed to bringing the total registered foreign investment capital in the first 10 months of 2025 to 31.5 billion USD, an increase of 15.6% over the same period last year.

The report of the Foreign Investment Agency (Ministry of Finance) emphasized that the processing and manufacturing industry has always been the sector that attracts the most FDI. In 10 months, investment capital in this sector reached 18.2 billion USD, accounting for over 57.8% of total registered investment capital, up 6.8% over the same period last year. Not only the quantity, but the quality of FDI flows is also constantly increasing as more and more projects in the fields of electronics, AI, and semiconductors are pouring into Vietnam.

Ms. Le Thi Hai Van, Investment Promotion Representative in Washington DC (USA), in a recent discussion on FDI attraction in Vietnam, mentioned the investments of Intel, Amkor, NVIDIA, Meta, Google to prove this. “FDI in Vietnam is shifting from attracting quantity to quality. American businesses when investing in Vietnam are giving strategic priorities to the fields of semiconductors, AI, clean energy, economic infrastructure and healthcare,” Ms. Hai Van said.

FDI in Vietnam is shifting from attracting quantity to quality. Photo : Duc Thanh

Riding the wave of production relocation

2025 is the year when the foreign investment environment is clearly affected by the global instability chain. Therefore, global FDI continues to decline, after having decreased by 11% in 2024, according to the report of UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development). Not only geopolitical instability, slowing global economic growth, but also according to the Foreign Investment Agency, the "near-shoring" and "friend-shoring" policies of G7 countries to reduce dependence on China, have made many international investors more cautious in expanding new projects or committing to long-term investments, especially in the fields of high technology, electronics and energy.

But Vietnam’s opportunities are still there. “Although global FDI flows are moving towards a state of adjustment (narrowing and focusing on quality), Vietnam still has opportunities in the wave of regional production relocation, especially in key sectors such as electronic components, medical equipment and renewable energy,” the Foreign Investment Agency commented.

However, according to the Foreign Investment Agency, this requires Vietnam to not only attract large capital but also aim for quality capital: high technology, global value chains connecting domestic enterprises and increasing domestic added value.

“Trade tensions and shifts in global supply chains bring great opportunities for Vietnam to become an important destination, but also pose challenges in its ability to meet the needs of high-tech industries,” said Ms. Le Thi Hai Van.

This challenge was also mentioned by the investor community in the recent discussion sessions at VBF. Not only infrastructure, especially energy, but also issues of human resource quality make investors worried when they want to invest in high-tech fields in Vietnam.

According to Mr. Ko Tae Yeon, Chairman of the Korean Business Association in Vietnam (Kocham), businesses are facing difficulties in recruiting both skilled and unskilled workers due to fluctuations in the investment environment. Notably, the widespread and uncontrolled recruitment of some businesses has disrupted the labor market; many skilled workers - who have been trained by businesses at considerable cost and time - cannot stay in the industry for a long time.

“As a result, productivity is affected and there are major barriers to investment expansion plans,” said Mr. Ko Tae Yeon, who also expressed concern that the revised High Technology Law could affect preferential policies that FDI enterprises have been enjoying according to previous investment commitments. And this could affect the investment motivation of FDI enterprises.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/co-hoi-cho-viet-nam-trong-lan-song-tai-dinh-vi-san-xuat-d433724.html