HCMCity (VNS/VNA) - Ho Chi Minh City will step up efforts to attract foreign direct investment byfocusing on infrastructure and administrative procedures, with priority givento high-tech projects, a top city official has said.

Le Thanh Liem, Standing Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, said priority would be given to foreigninvestors in technology who have innovative and advanced managementcapabilities.

Vietnam, especially HCM City,remains appealing to foreign investors who are continuing to make a beeline tothe southern economic hub despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hua Quoc Hung, head of the HCMCity Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (Hepza), said Vietnamhas done a good job in containing the outbreak, which has persuaded investorsto move their production from abroad to the city, contributing to boostingproduction, creating more jobs, especially in the services, footwear, leatherand textiles and garment industries.

The city is expected to receivea wave of investments post-pandemic when American, European and Japaneseinvestors move their production lines to Vietnam.

Experts said to welcome them,the city should set standards for foreign investors, saying priority should begiven to high-tech projects.

He proposed establishingspecialised industrial parks and attracting more investment in the productionof materials, especially those used in major industrial sectors.

Besides, it is important to setup zones for support industries using the State budget to regulate land leaseprices and attract investors to sectors targeted by the city and the centralgovernments.

He also recommended existingindustrial parks should attract intensive investment for sustainabledevelopment.

They should prioritisebusinesses with cutting-edge technologies and high added value while improvingexport capacity, he said.

HCM City also plans to offercompetitive land rents and other incentives at industrial parks (IPs) andexport processing zones (EPZs), and earmark more lands for buildinginfrastructure to attract investment, according to Hung.

The city would switch to newermodels of IPs and EPZs to attract foreign investment, and ensure it hasappropriate incentives during the transition process, he said.

There are 17 IPs and EPZs inthe city, and they have an occupancy rate of 68 percent, he said.

But only 120ha of land isavailable there in 2021 compared to 500-600ha a year in the last five years. 

The city has sought theGovernment’s approval for a 380ha IP in Bình Chánh District, a specialisedone prioritising innovative start-ups and producers and distributors in newindustries.

The city is expected tohave 23 EPZs and IZs with a total of 5,797.62ha in future.

HCM City received 3.81 billion USDworth of FDI in the first 11 months of the year, a drop of 30.5 year-on-year,according to the city's Statistics Office. The city accounted for 14.4 percentof the country’s total FDI in the period.

It took the lead with 865 FDIprojects, followed by Hanoi with 470 and Bac Ninh province with 136.

The Statistics Officeattributed the drop in FDI to the fact that the pandemic is still unpredictable.

This year, HCM City authoritieshave approved 3,401 cases of capital contribution and share purchase involving 2.83 billion USD, down 28.3 percent and 13.6 percent.

Experts have warned thatforeign investors complain that traffic infrastructure and administrativeprocedures have not improved much./.