Vietnam drew $50.36bn in foreign direct investment (FDI) between January and September 2026, an increase of 76.4% on the previous year.

According to the National Statistics Office, newly registered capital accounted for $29.24bn of the total.

The value of newly registered capital was 2.4 times that of the same period last year.

The figures come from the office's report on socio-economic conditions for the third quarter and the first nine months.

According to a translated version of the report, total social investment at current prices was estimated at VND3,109.6tn ($119.59bn), a rise of 15.1%.

Implemented investment from the state budget grew 19%, compared with 29.2% in the same period of 2025.

GDP growth for the nine months was estimated at 9.01%, up from 7.80% a year earlier.

Growth was 8.15% in the first quarter, 8.81% in the second and 9.95% in the third.

Industry and construction expanded 11.21%, services 8.69%, and agriculture, forestry and fisheries 4.02%.

Hanoi grew 8.85% and Ho Chi Minh City 9.06%, which the report said puts pressure on the national growth target of over 10% for 2026.

Goods exports and imports together totalled $888.02bn, up 30.4%, with exports rising 24.5% and imports 36.7%.

September recorded a trade surplus of $1.27bn after nine consecutive monthly deficits.

Over the nine months, however, the balance was a $19.42bn deficit, against a $16.87bn surplus a year earlier.

Retail sales of goods and consumer services reached VND5,925.7tn, up 13.4% in nominal terms and 7.8% after excluding the price factor.

International visitors numbered 17.7 million, up 14.5% and about 71% of the 2026 target of 25 million.

Consumer prices rose 4.52% on average, above the target of about 4.5%.

Nearly 149,700 new businesses were registered, up 3.2%, with registered capital of VND1,884.0tn, up 32.7%.

The youth unemployment rate was 8.87%, up 0.5 percentage points.