Vietnamese businesses have invested in 23 projects totaling 123.62 million USD in other countries in the first quarter of this year, according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

An office of the Vietnamese-invested LaoVietBank in Laos

Five operating projects increased their capital by 25.88 million USD in the reviewed time, bringing the total investment capital Vietnamese businesses poured overseas to 149.5 million USD.

In the time, finance-banking caught top interests from the Vietnamese investors, accounting for 70.2 percent of their total newly-licensed and added capital, or 105 million USD.

It was followed by manufacturing and processing which received 19.9 million USD, or 13.3 percent of the total investment capital in the quarter.

The other fields were retails and wholesales with seven projects worth 8.5 million USD, or 8 percent of the total, and accommodation, dinning, communications, construction, freighting and storehouse.

The Vietnamese businesses invested in 16 countries and territories in the reviewed time, with Laos leading the list by accounting for 53.5 percent of total investment, followed by Cambodia, 17.3 percent, Cuba, 13.3 percent, and Australia 8 percent, reported the Foreign Investment Agency.-VNA