Investors Still Flocking to Vietnam Despite Political Upheaval

financialpost.com:

(Bloomberg) — Over the past few years, Vietnam’s anti-graft drive has taken down a slew of top Communist Party leaders, including presidents, deputy prime ministers and Politburo members. But that hasn’t stopped foreign investors from pouring in cash. 

Between January and April, disbursed foreign direct investment rose 7.4% from a year earlier to $6.3 billion, after 2023 saw the figure reach a new record of $23.18 billion. The nation’s external account has stayed healthy, with current account — the broadest measure of trade — in surplus.

“You’ve never seen more foreign investment in Vietnam — and a great majority of that is going into the super productive manufacturing sector, which underpins Vietnam’s growth,” said Peter Ryder, Hanoi-based chairman of Indochina Capital, a real estate advisory, investment and development company. “Vietnam’s pretty solid right now.”

The resilience of foreign investment into Vietnam shows that the party has mostly been able to contain the fallout of a period of prolonged political infighting spurred by questions over who will succeed Communist Party General-Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, the 80-year-old leader who has held the nation’s top job since 2011. Truong Thi Mai, once believed to be a rising star, became the latest Politburo member to fall after her removal from the party on Thursday.

The International Monetary Fund projects Vietnam’s economy to be among Asia’s fastest growing this year and lead the region along with India in 2025. Samsung Electronics Co., which has invested more than $22 billion in Vietnam, reiterated in March that it plans to funnel an additional $1 billion a year into the country, without specifying a time frame. 

Chipmaker Nvidia Corp.’s Chief Executive Office