Hanoi (VNA) – Total outbound Vietnamese investment reached 431.7 millionUSD in the first nine months of this year, according to the Foreign InvestmentAgency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Thelargest share of Vietnamese investment was poured into wholesale and retailsector, and auto and motorbike repairs with 110.6 million USD, accounting for25.6 percent of the total.

Comingsecond was science-technology with 83.4 million USD), followed by agriculture-forestry-fishery(64.1 million USD) and real estate (56.9 million USD).

Amongthe 30 countries and territories where Vietnamese investors landed during theperiod, Australia was the largest recipient with 140.6 million USD, making up32.6 percent of the sum.

Othermajor destinations for Vietnamese investment included the US (59.9 millionUSD), Spain (59.8 million USD), Cambodia (50.6 million USD) and Singapore (35.6million USD).

Vietnameseinvestors have also made efforts to gain footholds in promising markets in theSoutheast Asian region.

Vietnameseinvestment in Cambodia in the first seven months topped 38.5 million USD,equivalent to the accumulative registered capital of the entire 2018, the Ministryof Planning and Investment revealed at the 17th meeting of theVietnam-Cambodia Joint Committee on Cooperation in Economy, Culture andScience-Technology in Phnom Penh on August 21.

Cambodiaranks third among the 76 countries and territories where Vietnamese investors havebeen active. Vietnam is running 214 projects valued at 3.2 billion USD in theneighbouring country.

Vietnamis Cambodia’s fifth largest investor, after China, Thailand, the Republic ofKorea and Japan, with capital mainly channeled into agriculture and forestry(2.1 billion USD), finance, banking and insurance (370.1 million USD) andtelecom services (204.3 million USD).

Otherspheres like aviation, mining, processing and manufacturing, warehouseservices, health care, construction, tourism, hotels and real estate have alsoattracted Vietnamese firms.

Abouthalf of the total registered capital (1.5 billion USD) has to date beendisbursed, and many projects are operational and generating profits.

Laoshas lured the largest amount of Vietnamese investment over the years with 4.8billion USD, while Russia is second with 2.8 billion USD.

Apartfrom Laos and Cambodia, Vietnamese businesses have highly valued prospects inMyanmar where they have invested in about 200 projects.

Duringhis visit to Myanmar last June, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue said thecountry could become a strategic market, and suggested Myanmar createfavourable conditions and ensure a safe environment for Vietnamese firms tooperate.

HoangAnh Gia Lai Group, the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV),national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, Viettel Military Industry and TelecomGroup (Viettel) and FastGo, a ride-hailing start-up, are among the Vietnamese businessesto have made investment in Myanmar./.