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Since the beginning of the year, the city has seen the termination of 74 FDI projects with a total investment capital of more than 60 million USD. Photo: TTXVN

In the first four months of 2023, the southern economic hub saw 171.32 million USD in new projects, mostly in automobile and motorbike industry with 63.3 million USD, and construction with 53.7 million USD.

Singapore was the leading investor in the city in the January-April period with 58 projects worth 108.3 million USD, accounting for 63.2% of total FDI in new projects. It was followed by Japan with 26 projects worth 14.8 million USD, and Hong Kong (China) with 23 projects valued at 11.1 million USD.

Meanwhile, 372.63 million USD was injected in 95 underway projects in the city in the period, along with 435.69 million USD poured in share purchase and capital contribution deals.

Since the beginning of the year, the city has seen the termination of 74 FDI projects with a total investment capital of more than 60 million USD.

According to the city People’s Committee, as of April 2023, the city had been home to 11,668 operating FDI projects worth over 56.68 billion USD. Along with capital added in underway projects and share purchase deals, so far, HCM City has attracted nearly 80.91 billion USD of FDI in total.

In the first four months of 2023, HCM City drew 240.28 trillion USD of domestically-invested capital, down 43.3% over the same period last year.

The city also saw 14,752 newly-established businesses with total 144.56 trillion VND (6.16 billion USD), a year-on-year drop of 9.59% in project number and 58.71% in value. Meanwhile, 1,207 businesses were dissolved, 14,908 hailed operations, and 5,565 others resumed business. To date, the city has been home to 530,013 companies with combined capital of 10.1 quadrillion VND.

Representatives of foreign business associations have proposed several solutions to improve the investment and business environment in Ho Chi Minh City at a meeting with municipal officials hosted by the Investment & Trade Promotion Centre of the city on March 14.

Addressing the event, Vice Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Vo Van Hoan affirmed the city’s authorities always accompany businesses, including foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises, stressing that contributions made by FDI firms play an important role in the city's social investment.

According to the official, in 2023, the southern economic hub continued to lead the country in terms of registered FDI capital, with nearly 6 billion USD, surging by nearly 50% compared to 2022, and accounting for 16% of the country's total FDI attraction.

This highlights efforts of the municipal authorities in improving investment environment and implementing its commitments to investors and businesses, Hoan said.

Resources from FDI enterprises are crucial for the city's development and help facilitate its’ economic restructuring, he noted.

Ramachandran A.S, Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AmCham) stressed that the partnership achieved by the governments of Vietnam and the US is an important foundation for promoting cooperation between the business communities, contributing to the economic growth of the two nations.

HCM City should focus on strengthening the high-value production ecosystem, including areas such as tertiary education, innovation and digital transformation across sectors, logistics, infrastructure, energy, and sustainable development; investing in infrastructure development; enhancing the quality of healthcare; and improving policy environment, he said.

According to Wesley Chua, Vice Chairman of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce Vietnam (SCCV), administrative procedures in Vietnam are still complex and could pose obstacles for foreign investors.

He also mentioned other limitations such as a shortage of skilled labourers, the backwardness of transportation network, seaports, and power supply which raises logistics costs and poses challenges to foreign investors.

Meanwhile, Do Thi Hong Duyen, a member of the leadership board of the German Business Association in Vietnam, said HCM City and Vietnam in general need to pay heed to improving the investment environment through policy reforms, education reform, improving transportation infrastructure, and simplifying visa policies.

Phan Van Mai, Chairman of the municipal People's Committee stated that the city has concentrated on three growth pillars of investment, consumption, and exports.

In its long-term strategy, the southern economic hub is developing new growth drivers such as a financial hub, digital economy transformation, and green transformation to keep up with global development trends, he said, adding that the municipal authorities have also promoted efforts to better the quality of healthcare, education, transportation, and living environment to attract quality and sustainable capital flows.