Ho Chi Minh City leads the country in FDI attraction - Illustrative image (Source: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City tops the nation in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction, 30 years since the first foreign investor was allowed to operate in Vietnam on January 1, 1988.
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency (FIA), over the three decades, the city has granted investment licences to 7,494 projects worth 44.5 billion USD, accounting for 13.9 percent of the nation’s total FDI.
During the period, the largest economic hub of Vietnam has sometimes lost its top position, but was always in the top ten localities attracting the most foreign investment.
The result has been aided by billion-USD projects, which, experts said, have helped form the first models for FDI attraction in Vietnam. Tan Thuan export processing zone was the first model that the city created. Since its formation in 1991, Tan Thuan has attracted more than 100 investors, and generated big production and export values yearly.
Export processing zones and industrial parks in the city have helped turn more than 3,500 hectares of agricultural soil contaminated with alum and salinity into well-equipped industrial zones, creating jobs for about 250,000 labourers.
Ho Chi Minh City also became the first locality to welcome big names like Intel, Samsung, Toshiba, Mercedes, Isuzu and Nidec, creating breakthroughs in production and development.
The FIA said that the city continued leading the nation in FDI attraction in the first quarter of this year, with a total of 1.7 billion USD – a fourfold increase compared with the same period last year.
Director of the municipal Department of Planning and Investment Su Ngoc Anh said that the number of projects and investment capital will continue to rise in the rest of this year.
He emphasised share purchases, as this type of investment enjoyed a fivefold increase against the same period last year, with a focus on real estate, science and technology and tourism.
Therefore, in the future, the city will facilitate foreign investors, who want to contribute capital to or buy shares of Vietnamese businesses by offering online registration.
Anh added that the city will consider measures to attract more investment in real estate, science and technology and tourism, while seeking to create an equally competitive investment environment.-VNA
VNA
