Foreign invested enterprises have contributed positively to the growth of Da Nang's industrial area, said the city's Investment Promotion Centre director Lam Quang Minh.

"They generate significant foreign trade values and lure a large labour force," Minh said.

At present, the central city has 65 foreign invested firms investing in six industrial zones with a total registered capital of 574 million USD. They disbursed around 351 million USD, 70 percent of the total, and attracted about 33,700 workers.

The number of operating US-invested projects reaches 23 with a total capital of over 375 million USD, representing nearly 12 percent of all foreign investment in Da Nang.

These projects included the 50,000 USD AU Mechatronics Consultancy Project, which received an investment certificate earlier this year to develop consulting services for water, electricity and industrial installation.

Last year, these companies reached a production value of nearly 3 trillion VND (142.8 million USD), up 17 percent over the previous year. Their export value reached about 400 million USD, a year-on-year increase of 18 percent.

In order to boost both domestic and foreign investment, Minh said the city will offer incentives in the form of favourable immigration conditions, and would also cooperate with local universities in training human resources to meet firms' demands.

It will also help investors seek loans and support themselves while establishing hi-tech companies, he added.

At the end of last year, the People's Committee issued a decision putting in place preferential policies to support investment in the city's hi-tech park, especially in the fields of infrastructure, production, housing and service industries.

The policies included discounts for and exemptions from land rent, taxes and infrastructure use fees. /.