VIỆT NAM UPGRADES TO INVESTMENT GRADE BY R&I FOR FIRST TIME
Japan-based credit rating agency Rating and Investment Information, Inc on October 8 upgraded Việt Nam’s foreign currency issuer rating from BB+ with a positive outlook to BBB- with a stable outlook, placing the country in the investment-grade category for the first time, the Ministry of Finance said. R&I expects Việt Nam to maintain strong growth, supported by a shift towards a productivity and innovation driven growth models, expanded public investment, and sustained foreign direct investment inflows.
HUNG YEN’S REGIONAL GDP BEATS EXPECTATIONS
Hung Yen’s regional GDP grew 11.2 per cent in the first nine months of 2026, exceeding the 11.1 per cent growth scenario, with industry remaining the key growth driver, supported by construction and investment. Growth continued to accelerate on a quarterly basis. Along with this, the province’s regional GDP increased around 10.6 per cent in Q1, 11 per cent in Q2, and 10.8 per cent in the first six months, before reaching an estimated 12.01 per cent in the third quarter (Q3).
VIETNAM’S REGISTERED FDI SURPASSES $50 BILLION IN NINE MONTHS
According to the National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Finance, total registered foreign direct investment (FDI) reached $50.36 billion as of September 30, up 76.4 per cent on-year. Of the total, newly registered capital came from 3,108 newly licensed projects with combined registered capital of $29.24 billion, up 6.2 per cent in project numbers and 2.4 times the registered capital compared with the same period last year.
FOREIGN INVESTORS TO BE WIDENED FOR MARKET ACCESS
Vietnam is moving to widen market access, improve investment incentives, and streamline procedures, with greater support tied to investors’ actual commitments and results, as part of the law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Investment. The proposal was mentioned at the sixth session of the National Assembly Standing Committee in Hanoi on September 30, on amending the Law on Investment.
INFOGRAPHIC ON THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE IN THE THIRD QUARTER AND THE FIRST 9 MONTHS OF 2026
The monthly statistical data presents current economic and social statistics on a variety of subjects illustrating crucial economic trends and developments, including production of agriculture, forestry and fishery, business registration situation, investment, government revenues and expenditures, trade, prices, transport and tourism and so on.
HÀ NỘI'S FOREIGN INVESTMENT REACHES $4.07 BILLION THROUGH SEPTEMBER
Hà Nội attracted an estimated US$4.07 billion in foreign investment in the first nine months of 2026, reaching 90.4 per cent of the city's full-year target, according to data released by the Hanoi Financial Department. The figure includes $676 million in newly registered capital, $691 million in additional capital and $2.7 billion from foreign investors' capital contributions and share purchases.
CHINA BECOMES VIỆT NAM’S SECOND-LARGEST RICE EXPORT MARKET
China has emerged as Việt Nam’s second-largest rice export market after spending nearly US$505 million to import over one million tonnes of Vietnamese rice in the first eight months of 2026, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. During the same period last year, China imported just over 565,000 tonnes, valued at $286.7 million. With the surge, China rose from fourth place during the same period in 2025 to the second position, just behind the Philippines.
HCM CITY RECORDS STRONGEST QUARTERLY GROWTH IN A DECADE
HCM City’s economy grew 9.86 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier, its strongest quarterly growth in about a decade, the city’s Statistics Office said. The growth lifted the city's gross regional domestic product (GRDP) in the first nine months of 2026 to 9.06 per cent year-on-year. Services remained the main driver, growing 9.95 per cent in the third quarter and accounting for 51.9 per cent of overall growth.
