Viet Nam’s total outbound investment in the first quarter of the year hit an estimated US$120 million, according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

People register for services of Metfone, a Viettel brand in Cambodia. Cambodia is one of markets which received large investments of Vietnamese firms. 

Of that number, $80.4 million was poured into 24 new projects while the remaining $39.6 million was pledged to eight existing projects.

The agency said the science and technology sector received the largest share of investment at $67.8 million, 56.5 per cent of the total. It was followed by $36 million to banking sector, accounting for 30 per cent of the total and wholesale and retail sector with $10.7 million, or 8.9 per cent.

Among the 18 countries and territories where Vietnamese investors were active in the first three months of the year, Spain was the largest recipient with $59.8 million, followed by Cambodia and the US, which received $37.9 million and $11 million, respectively.

Experts forecast that Vietnamese overseas investment will continue to increase if the world economy stays stable. Meanwhile, free trade agreements which Viet Nam has joined could help drive local enterprises to seek investment opportunities in foreign markets thank to tax cuts. — VNS