Hanoi vows to create a favourable investment climate in line with global integration to lure more foreign investment, especially capital from EU businesses.

The pledge was made by Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen The Thao at a February 20 meeting with representatives from EU corporations currently operating in the country like HITC-Schmidt, Mercedes-Benz, Siemens and IMG.

The city has exerted efforts to collaborate with agencies and other local authorities to remove red tape related to investment permission and further attract foreign-invested projects, stressed the chairman.

Hanoi has seen booming economic growth in recent years and absorbed large foreign-invested projects thanks to its policy of openness and fostering connections with more than 100 capital cities around the world.

The city has grasped a number of economic and trade cooperation opportunities with the EU in both bilateral and multilateral directions.

It has 2,727 valid FDI projects operating in property, communications, the processing industry and entertainment, with a total registered capital of 21.9 billion USD.

Of which, 290 projects were invested by 19 EU member countries, worth a sum of 2.61 billion USD. France recorded the highest investment with 68 projects, followed by Germany with 44 projects and Denmark, 42 projects.

EU businesses in Hanoi made combined revenues of 25.7 trillion VND (over 1.2 billion USD) between 2012 and 2013, contributing nearly 1.78 trillion VND (83.66 million USD) to the local budget.

In the coming time, the city will continue to draw foreign investment to the prioritised fields of high technology, education and healthcare, asserted the municipal leader at the event.

As for EU nations, their priorities lie in other fields such as quality services, economy, electronics, high-class resorts, and treatment for environmental pollution, he affirmed.-VNA