Pandemic takes toll on HCM City’s FDI attraction hinh anh 1 A corner of Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA)

HCM City (VNA) – Foreign direct investment (FDI) pledges for Ho Chi Minh City fell 30.5 percent year-on-year to 3.8 billion USD during January-November, according to the municipal statistics bureau.

The global economy has been battered by the coronavirus pandemic, and investors unable to travel due to restrictions, the bureau further said.

In the 11-month period, 865 new projects were granted investment registration certificates, a year-on-year decline of 26.8 percent. Total registered capital fell to 500 million USD, down 65 percent.

Regarding additional capital, 235 projects registered to adjust their capital, down 16.7 percent, while the total capital topped 476 million USD, down 38 percent as compared to the same time last year.

More than 2.83 billion USD was poured into 3,401 capital contribution and share purchase deals by foreign investors, a decline of 13.6 percent.

Since the pandemic continues its complicated developments, the municipal People’s Committee has held various dialogues with enterprises to remove bottlenecks for them, while carrying out trade promotion activities with large trade partners like the US, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

According to head of the Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing Zone and Industry Park Authority Hua Quoc Hung, warehouses have been developed to welcome both domestic and foreign investment flow. Particularly, many investors have shifted their production from foreign countries to the southern hub since Vietnam has put the coronavirus outbreak under control.

Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Thanh Liem said the city will enact numerous solutions to facilitate FDI by focusing on infrastructure and administrative procedures.

The city will give top priority to FDI firms with advanced management capacity, as well as encourage development of the sectors that create a locomotive for the economic growth and competitive edge such as intensive science technology industry./. 
VNA