In September alone, foreign capital neared 4.26 billion USD, the highest monthly figure this year and accounting for 17.2% of the nine-month total.

Notably, significant investments were directed toward large-scale projects in semiconductors, energy, electronic components, and high-value-added products between January and September.

Foreign investors channeled funds into 18 out of 21 economic sectors, with manufacturing and processing leading the way at nearly 15.64 billion USD, or 63.1% of the total registered capital, a slight 0.4% annual decrease. Real estate followed with over 4.38 billion USD, or 17.7% of total registered capital, more than doubling the figure in the same period last year. Electricity production and distribution and wholesale and retail saw investments of approximately 1.12 billion USD and 920 million USD, respectively.

The wholesale and retail sector, meanwhile, led in the number of new projects, making up 35% of the total.

By the end of September, 98 countries and territories had invested in Vietnam. Singapore topped the list with 7.35 billion USD, followed by China with over 3.2 billion USD. Other major investors included the Republic of Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan.

In terms of new projects, China topped the list, accounting for 29.3% of the total. Meanwhile, the RoK took the lead in capital adjustments (23.9%) and share purchases (25.6%).

Geographically, foreign investors poured capital into 55 provinces and cities across Vietnam in the first nine months. The northern province of Bac Ninh attracted the most, 4.5 billion USD, a 3.47-fold increase from the same period last year.

According to the agency, the nine-month export turnover of the foreign-funded sector, including crude oil, was estimated at over 217.4 billion USD, up 14.1% year-on-year, accounting for 72.1% of Vietnam's total export revenue.

The sector recorded a trade surplus of nearly 38 billion USD, including crude oil, and over 36.5 billion USD without crude oil. This surplus offset the domestic sector's trade deficit of nearly 18.2 billion USD, helping the country achieve an overall surplus of about 19.8 billion USD./.VNA