HCM City has attracted US$3.23 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first eight months of 2017, reported the municipal Department of Planning and Investment.

This is 1.57 times higher than the figure in the same period last year.

One of the biggest FDI projects currently in HCM City is the Saigon Silicon City Project, a research and development project and home to many of the world’s biggest high-tech corporations and technology start-up companies.

The Saigon Silicon City Park Joint Stock Company has invested in the project and has signed a memorandum of co-operation with the US’ World Trade Centre Utah to implement the project.

Spread over an area of 52ha in the Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) with a total investment of about $40 million, the project is expected to become a smart urban area with ready-to-use infrastructure and facility, attracting foreign enterprises.

Meanwhile, the Republic of Korea’s CJ Cau Tre Foods Joint Stock Company was licensed to invest in a $53.3 million project in Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park.

This is a food processing complex spanning an area of 7.1ha, including a food processing factory, a research and development centre and a modern food safety centre.

To attract more FDI in the remaining months of 2017, HCM City is deploying measures to develop four key industries, namely manufacturing engineering, electronics, chemical-rubber-plastics industry, and food processing. — VNS