Imagine US$10 in foreign investment flowing into Southeast Asia. More than US$6 of that amount goes to just one country: Singapore.
Between 2021 and 2025, Singapore received US$676.3 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI). This accounted for 61.8% of all foreign investment entering ASEAN during the five-year period, which totalled US$1,093.8 billion.
FDI refers to money invested by foreign companies or individuals to establish or expand businesses in another country. This can include building factories, opening offices, or purchasing shares in local companies. The amount of FDI a country receives therefore offers a glimpse into how much foreign capital is flowing into its economy.
Data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), published in the 2026 World Investment Report: International Investment in a Turbulent Era, shows that foreign investment in Southeast Asia remains heavily concentrated in Singapore. Here is how the 11 ASEAN countries rank by the amount of FDI they received between 2021 and 2025.
| Rank | Country | FDI in 2025 (US$ billion) | Total FDI 2021–2025 (US$ billion) | Share of ASEAN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Singapore | 150.9 | 676.3 | 61.8% |
| 2 | Indonesia | 21.4 | 114.3 | 10.4% |
| 3 | Viet Nam | 20.4 | 92.6 | 8.5% |
| 4 | Thailand | 19.1 | 72.0 | 6.6% |
| 5 | Malaysia | 15.4 | 63.4 | 5.8% |
| 6 | Philippines | 9.0 | 41.0 | 3.8% |
| 7 | Cambodia | 5.1 | 20.5 | 1.9% |
| 8 | Myanmar | 1.1 | 7.0 | 0.6% |
| 9 | Laos | 1.4 | 6.3 | 0.6% |
| 10 | Timor-Leste | 0.3 | 0.4 | <0.1% |
| 11 | Brunei Darussalam | 0.2 | 0.06 | <0.1% |
<caption>Source: Compiled from UNCTAD (2026), Annex Table 1. Total figures represent cumulative FDI inflows between 2021 and 2025.</caption>
Why Is Singapore So Far Ahead?
Singapore received US$676.3 billion in foreign investment over the five-year period. In 2025 alone, the amount reached US$150.9 billion, up from US$126.2 billion in 2021.
This also made Singapore the world's second-largest recipient of foreign investment in 2025, behind only the United States, which attracted US$277 billion.
Singapore's strong position is closely linked to its role as a financial hub and a base for the regional and international headquarters of major companies. Many businesses use the country to manage their operations and investments across different markets. As a result, large amounts of foreign capital flow through Singapore compared with other ASEAN countries.
The gap becomes even clearer when the other ASEAN countries are considered together. Between 2021 and 2025, the ten remaining members received a combined US$417.5 billion in FDI.
In other words, Singapore alone attracted more foreign investment than all its ASEAN neighbours combined.
Indonesia and Viet Nam Follow Behind
Indonesia ranked second, receiving a total of US$114.3 billion in foreign investment between 2021 and 2025. Annual inflows peaked at US$25.4 billion in 2022 before falling to US$21.4 billion in 2025.
The 2025 figure was around 14% lower than the US$24.8 billion recorded in 2024.
Viet Nam ranked third, with total FDI inflows of US$92.6 billion. Unlike Indonesia, the country recorded annual increases throughout the period, rising from US$15.7 billion in 2021 to US$20.4 billion in 2025. However, growth in the final year was relatively modest at around 1%.
Both countries also made it into the world's 20 largest FDI recipients in 2025. This highlights their importance as investment destinations for companies looking to expand their businesses in Southeast Asia. Even so, the amounts they attracted remained far below Singapore's total.
Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines Follow
Thailand ranked fourth, with total FDI inflows of US$72 billion over five years. In 2025, the country received US$19.1 billion, an increase of around 30% from the previous year.
Malaysia followed in fifth place, with US$63.4 billion in total FDI. Investment inflows had fallen to US$8.5 billion in 2023 but later recovered, reaching US$15.4 billion in 2025. This represented an increase of around 51% from the previous year.
The Philippines ranked sixth, attracting a total of US$41 billion over the same period. Foreign investment inflows fell from US$10.2 billion in 2021 to US$5.9 billion in 2022.
The figure later recovered, reaching US$9 billion in 2025, although this was still around 4% lower than the previous year.
The Other Five ASEAN Countries
Among the remaining countries, Cambodia received US$20.5 billion in total FDI between 2021 and 2025. Its annual inflows increased steadily, from US$3.5 billion in 2021 to US$5.1 billion in 2025.
Myanmar received US$7 billion, while Laos recorded US$6.3 billion. Timor-Leste attracted around US$415 million, and Brunei Darussalam had the lowest total, at approximately US$56 million. Brunei's relatively small figure was partly influenced by negative investment flows recorded in 2022 and 2023.
Overall, the figures show that foreign investment has not been evenly distributed across Southeast Asia. Singapore remains the region's leading destination by a wide margin, followed by Indonesia and Viet Nam. The other ASEAN countries account for considerably smaller shares of the region's total FDI.
Data note: All figures in this article are drawn from a single UNCTAD data series in the World Investment Report 2026. Data for Singapore, Viet Nam, and Brunei are compiled using the asset/liability basis, while the Philippines' figures are calculated on the same basis. Earlier editions of ASEAN investment reports may contain different figures for the same year due to data revisions. For example, the ASEAN Investment Report 2022, published by the ASEAN Secretariat in 2022, recorded Singapore's FDI inflows in 2021 at US$99.1 billion.
