Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam maintained its thirdposition in the number of investment deals and regained the third place in termsof total investment in startups in Southeast Asia.

In 2023, Vietnamese startups received a total investment capitalof 529 million USD.

Singapore led in both the number of deals and total investmentcapital for startups, followed by Indonesia.

That is notable information in the 2024 Technology and InnovationInvestment Report released at the Vietnam Innovation Forum 2024.

This forum was organised in Ho Chi Minh City on April 26 by theNational Innovation Centre (NIC) and Do Ventures Investment Fund under thesponsorship of the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

This report also said that in 2023, Vietnamese startups' totalinvestment capital of 529 million USD dropped by 17% compared to the previousyear.

Meanwhile, Vietnam's number of deals involving startups slightlydecreased by 9% to 122 deals.

This decline shows that the technology investment landscape in Vietnamcontinues to be affected by changes in the global economy.

However, this reduction rate was slighter than the decrease of 35%to 345 billion USD in total global venture capital investment, showing that theVietnam market is still an attractive destination in the capital market.

In 2023, nearly 100 funds poured capital into Vietnamese startups,of which the most active investors came from Singapore, followed by Vietnameseinvestors.

Of which, the healthcare sector received the highest investment,skyrocketing 391% over the previous year. The education sector also received ahigh amount of capital, up 107% year on year.

Speaking at the forum, Deputy Minister of Planning and InvestmentTran Duy Dong said that as a pioneer country in the field of innovation, Vietnamcommits to upgrading the national innovation ecosystem, attracting investmentand talent.

With preferential policy mechanisms and simplified regulations, Vietnamwill accompany startups, corporations, organisations and experts to developscience and technology, promote innovation, contributing to the country'seconomic growth.

Vietnam has moved up two places in the Global Innovation Index(GII) in 2023, ranking 46th out of 132 countries and territories, according toa GII report released by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

Vietnam is one of seven middle-income countries having made themost progress in innovation over the past decade.

This positive results are owing to the continuous efforts oforganisations, individuals and businesses in the work of innovation, Dong said./.