Cat Thai Manufacturing & Trading Limited Company located in HCM City specialises in manufacturing metal, rubber circuit elements and plastic for export and foreign enterprises based in Viet Nam. — VNA/VNS Photo An Hieu

Speaking at an investment seminar yesterday in the city, Hoa said investment priority would be given to nine key sectors: transport (warehousing, port services, maritime logistics and import/export); finance (banking, insurance, credit); postal, telecommunications and IT; real estate; consulting services and science-technology; travel; medical services; commerce; and education and training.

Sectors with high-tech content and high added value, such as mechanical engineering, electronics/IT, chemicals/rubber and food processing, will also be given more emphasis.

Other areas the city plans to give priority to include the biotech industry, clean technology, energy savings, and the fashion and design industries.

Preferential policies will be created to attract investors to the Thu Thiem New Urban Area, Hiep Phuoc Port Urban Area, Binh Quoi-Thanh Da Urban Area, and urban railway lines.

Pham Quoc Trung, a representative of the Management Authority for Urban Railways, said the city had 11 railway line projects, including metro, tramway and monorail lines, with total length of 229 kilometres.

Funds are needed for Metro Line No 2 (phase 2), Metro lines No 3a and 3b, Metro lines No 4 and 4b, tramway No 1, monorail No 2 and monorail No 3.

Le Bich Loan, deputy head of the Sai Gon Hi-Tech Park's management board, said that all of the 300ha under the park's first phase had been leased, and the second phase of 613ha was now under construction.

The park's investment priorities are in the fields of microelectronics, semiconductors and ICT; precision mechanics and automation; biotechnology applied to pharmaceuticals and the environment, new and advanced materials and energy; and nanotechnology.

Preferential treatment for investors includes lower corporate income taxes for 15 years, and import duties and VAT exemption for imported goods.

Lam Nguyen Hai Long, director of Quang Trung Software City (QTSC), the country's first and largest software park, said that new QTSC branches were being planned. These would connect HCM City to other provinces and contribute to the development of Viet Nam's economy and the IT industry.

The QTSC 2 project is slated to begin in 2017 with a total area of 250ha and total investment of US$1 billion. Key investors would be sought for a new data centre, and R&D and utility services.

Representatives from the city's Health Department also called for investment in Cu Chi General Hospital, Hoc Mon General Hospital, Orthopedic Hospital, Cancer Hospital's second facility in District 9, Tan Kien-Binh Chanh Hospital cluster projects and a pediatric hospital, among others.

The seminar was part of the Business Partner City (BPC) Conference 2016, with representatives attending from 14 partner cities, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Jakarta, Seoul, Melbourne, Auckland, Shanghai, Tianjin and Osaka.

Masayuki Inoue, director general of Osaka's Economic Strategy Bureau, said by exchanging information, BPC partner cities would have more opportunities to develop trade and investment.

The Business Partner City network helps promote business interaction within the Asia–Pacific region, contributing to economic development of each member city.

Business matching was organised in HCM City yesterday, where executives of more than 100 city-based businesses met with 28 counterparts from Japan, the Philippines and Australia in the trading, manufacturing and services sectors.

HCM City has 6,268 FDI projects, with total investment capital of $40.8 billion.

Singapore is the city's largest FDI investor, followed by Malaysia, British Virgin Islands, South Korea and Hong Kong. — VNS