Vietnamese enterprises have invested approximately $2.7 billion in Cambodia, coming third behind Laos which received the most investment capital from Vietnamese enterprises at nearly $5 billion in registered capital from 208 projects.

This was followed by Russia at approximately $2.8 billion, Cambodia and Venezuela at about $1.8 billion.

Last year saw Vietnamese businesses pour an estimated $21 billion into more than 1,300 projects in foreign countries, with profits transferred home reaching roughly $3 billion, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment of Viet Nam.

Included in the figure are a number of major schemes, such as Viettel’s telecom network project in Cambodia at $22.1 million, an oil and gas project run by PetroVietnam in Russia at over $170 million and Petrolimex’s programme in Singapore at nearly $10 million.

Viettel’s Metfone boasts about 50% market share, 99 percent network coverage and more than 10 million subscribers, being in the top three of the telco giants in Cambodia.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment stated that the retained earnings for reinvestment stood at roughly $363 million. Most notably, last year saw retained profits for reinvestment reach over $23.1 million, with businesses contributing roughly $22 million as state financial obligations from overseas investments.

Along with the repatriated capital, local businesses have also been active in creating significant assets such as factories and manufacturing facilities worth several billions of dollars abroad. VOV