This marks a 0.6-percentage-point decrease from last year but is still enough for Vietnam to surpass Laos, the previous top market, the Japan Trade Promotion Organisation's fiscal year 2024 survey on Japanese firms operating overseas revealed. All retail and food service businesses in Vietnam expressed plans for expansion. The rates are 48% for manufacturing firms and 63% for non-manufacturing companies. Japanese businesses cited Vietnam’s growing domestic demand and export potential as key reasons for increasing investments over the next few years. About 49% of surveyed firms expect their performance in 2024 to surpass 2023 levels, a rise of 16.8 percentage points from last year’s survey — the highest increase among ASEAN countries. Japan ranked as Vietnam's fifth-largest investor among 110 countries and territories during the first 11 months of 2024, with total foreign direct investment reaching 3.61 billion USD, or 11.5% of the total, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment./.