Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan has asked management boards of industrial and export processing zones to grasp opportunities when a new investment wave is expected to come in the time to come, the Saigon Giai Phong (Saigon Liberated) online newspaper reported.

It is an important factor to make preparations for investment attraction, Quan said at a meeting with the HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zone Authority (Hepza) in HCM City on July 30.

Quan asked exporting processing and industrial zone infrastructure development companies to improve services for investors, connect businesses in the zones with authorized agencies to renovate equipment, improve their product quality and competitiveness.

The zones should transfer economic structure, link domestic with foreign companies to catch market demand and assist development of support industry.

Deputy Head of Hepza Management Board Nguyen Bach Hoang Phung reported at the meeting that they lured 333.47 million USD of investment capital in the first seven months this year, accounting for 60.63 percent of its plan and up 55.49 percent over the same period last year.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved Ho Chi Minh City's industrial plan by 2020 with 24 industrial zones.

According to the plan, the 114 hectare Phu Huu IZ is taken out from the national development plan of industrial zones by 2015 and visions until 2020.

The Prime Minister agreed to reduce Tan Tao IZ's area from 175.57 to 161.35 hectares.

Phong Phu's area will fall to 134 hectares from 148.4 and will be converted into a hi-tech complex, which 67 hectares will be for the industrial zone.-VNA