The southern economic hub of HCM City this year aims to attract 8.4 billion USDin foreign direct investment, according to the city's Department of Planning andInvestment.
The city also hopes that 1.43 billion USD of the total willbe implemented this year.
By attracting FDI, the city has acquiredstate-of-the-art technologies and advanced management skills and createdhundreds of thousands of jobs, said the chairman of the municipal People'sCommittee, Le Hoang Quan, during a recent investment conference in HCM City.
The investment has also enabled the development of technical and socialinfrastructure, he said, adding that FDI has helped the city develop some keyindustries such as software, telecommunications, electronics and finance andbanking, in addition to hotels, urban areas, amusement parks and logistics.
However, the city has been affected by the global downturn and whilefacing a growing shortage of skilled workers, suffers from poor infrastructureand rising production costs as well as growing competition from neighbouringcountries in attracting FDI.
The city attracted only 2 billion USD inFDI in 2009, down by 77 percent compared to 2008.
The city will continueto speed up administrative procedures, perfect its legal framework to conformwith international standards and make further investments in transportinfrastructure, Quan said.
Cheap land prices and labour costs are nolonger the city's biggest advantages over other countries in terms of FDIattraction, Quan acknowledged.
Thus, improving the management capacityof local authorities and personnel resources to help gain access to largeamounts of investment is now the city's most important task, he said./.
The city also hopes that 1.43 billion USD of the total willbe implemented this year.
By attracting FDI, the city has acquiredstate-of-the-art technologies and advanced management skills and createdhundreds of thousands of jobs, said the chairman of the municipal People'sCommittee, Le Hoang Quan, during a recent investment conference in HCM City.
The investment has also enabled the development of technical and socialinfrastructure, he said, adding that FDI has helped the city develop some keyindustries such as software, telecommunications, electronics and finance andbanking, in addition to hotels, urban areas, amusement parks and logistics.
However, the city has been affected by the global downturn and whilefacing a growing shortage of skilled workers, suffers from poor infrastructureand rising production costs as well as growing competition from neighbouringcountries in attracting FDI.
The city attracted only 2 billion USD inFDI in 2009, down by 77 percent compared to 2008.
The city will continueto speed up administrative procedures, perfect its legal framework to conformwith international standards and make further investments in transportinfrastructure, Quan said.
Cheap land prices and labour costs are nolonger the city's biggest advantages over other countries in terms of FDIattraction, Quan acknowledged.
Thus, improving the management capacityof local authorities and personnel resources to help gain access to largeamounts of investment is now the city's most important task, he said./.
