South East Asia (SEA), 2026

July 7, 2026: Philippines again left behind in 2025 as Foreign Investors chose to invest in other South East Asian Countries instead

The Philippines last Year of 2025 was again left behind by the Investment Boom that has been sweeping most of the other Countries in South East Asia (SEA) according to the 2026 World Investment Report that was released recently by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). 

The Philippines only received around $9 billion worth of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in 2025 which is almost 17 times lower than that of Singapore which received $151 billion worth of FDIs last Year. 

Indonesia ($21.44 billion), Vietnam ($20.35 billion) and Thailand ($19.1 billion) had more than twice more FDIs than the Philippines while Malaysia at $15.4 billion had more than 1 1/2 times more. This shows that Foreign Investors actively chose to invest more in other SEA Countries than in the Philippines. 

SOURCE: Philippines left behind as $244 billion in Foreign Capital floods Southeast Asia {Archived Link}

March 21, 2026: Vietnam now the preferred Destination of Investors from the EU in SEA; Also received 3.5x more FDIs than Thailand

Chris Humphrey, the Executive Director of the "European Union (EU)-Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Business Council" recently told a major Newspaper in Thailand that European Countries are now increasingly favoring Vietnam for future Investments than other Countries in South East Asia (SEA).

This he said is according to “Sentiment Surveys” conducted by the Council, which also pointed out that Vietnam’s extensive Network of Trade Agreements, among other Things, has given it a clear Advantage over the other SEA Countries including Thailand.

In comparison, Thailand last Year of 2025 received a five-Year high Usd 10.4 billion in Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) from all other Countries, but Vietnam received more than three and a half times that Figure with Usd 38.42 billion for the same Year.  

SOURCE: Vietnam, not Thailand, preferred by European Investors in ASEAN {Archived Link}

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