Vietnam Pushes Foreign Investors Towards Innovation

Vietnam is seeking deeper technological partnerships with foreign companies after reporting a sharp increase in registered foreign direct investment, signalling an ambition to gain more research and innovation from international capital.

Speaking at the Autumn Economic Forum in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday, Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng said registered FDI reached $50.36 billion during the first nine months of 2026, an increase of 76.4% from a year earlier. Actual disbursements rose 12.1% to $21.07 billion. The difference matters: registered investment reflects commitments and approvals, while disbursements measure capital that has been put to work.

The government wants multinational investors to move beyond using Vietnam primarily as a production base. Its priorities include research and development, semiconductors, artificial intelligence and advanced materials, with closer collaboration between foreign businesses and domestic suppliers. Lê Minh Hưng argued that attracting investment must go alongside strengthening local companies and improving productivity. Vietnam also reported economic growth of 9.01% over the same nine-month period, underscoring its continued appeal as an industrial location.

The shift reflects a question confronting manufacturing economies that attract large volumes of overseas capital: how much knowledge, technology and purchasing activity remains within the host country. Foreign-owned factories can create jobs and exports without necessarily developing local research or higher-value businesses. Vietnam is positioning the next phase of investment around more extensive domestic participation. Whether the strategy succeeds will depend on skills, infrastructure and the ability of Vietnamese firms to enter multinational supply chains, particularly in complex and technologically demanding sectors.