Mechanical components are manufactured at Misumi Vietnam Company in HCM City's Linh Trung Export Processing Zone. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Vũ
Representatives of foreign business associations proposed several solutions to improve the investment and business environment in HCM City during a meeting with municipal officials on Thursday.
Deputy Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Võ Văn Hoan said the city’s authorities worked alongside businesses, including foreign-invested, stressing that their contributions played an important role in the city's social investment.
Resources from foreign-invested enterprises were crucial for the city's development and helped facilitate its economic restructuring, he said.
Ramachandran A.S, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Việt Nam (AmCham), said that the partnership achieved by the governments of Việt Nam 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, deputy chairman of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce Vietnam (SCCV), administrative procedures in Việt Nam were still complex and could pose obstacles for foreign investors.
He also highlighted a shortage of skilled labourers, and the poor transportation networks, seaports and power supply which raised logistics costs and posed challenges to foreign investors as other limitations.
Meanwhile, Đỗ Thị Hồng Duyên, a member of the leadership board of the German Business Association in Việt Nam, said HCM City and Việt Nam needed to pay heed to improve the investment environment through policy reforms, education reform, improving transportation infrastructure and simplifying visa policies.
Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Phan Văn Mãi said that the city has concentrated on three growth pillars – 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.
Creating breakthroughs in foreign investment attraction
HCM City should take a pioneering role in developing and perfecting investment institutions to attract more foreign investors, a conference heard the same day in the city.
During the event, hosted by the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre and Ho Chi Minh City International Integration Support Centre, head of Saigon Hi-tech Park Nguyễn Anh Thi suggested the city consider foreign investment attraction as a means instead of " a salvage" to improve domestic capacity.
The city should identify foreign investors as ones with sufficient capital capacities, but also those capable of helping improve domestic technological capacity, Thi said, adding that top priority should be given to attracting foreign investors who can participate in developing ecosystem chains to create a competitive advantage for the city.
Director of the Institute for Brand and Competitiveness Strategy Võ Trí Thành said Việt Nam in general and HCM City in particular has enjoyed an unprecedented opportunity to attract foreign businesses, especially quality ones.
The southern city must pioneer in building institutions and luring strategic investors, Thành said, adding that the goal of attracting investment must shift from maximising quantity to optimising quality, connecting the front and back, spreading technology and skills, ensuring sustainable development, increasing the participation of local businesses into the supply chain.
HCM City is now leading the country in terms of a valid number of foreign investments with 12,520 projects worth US$57.64 billion.
In 2023 alone, the city attracted $5.85 billion in foreign investment, up 48.5 per cent year-on-year.
Disbursed capital was estimated to reach nearly $1.5 billion, an increase of 10 per cent on the figure of 2022.
Notably, in the first two months of 2024, the city led the country in terms of the number of projects, capital adjustment, capital contributions and share purchases.
Late last year, the city approved its foreign attraction plan for the 2023-25 period with a vision to 2030. Under the plan, it expects to attract more than 50 high-tech projects by 2025 with a total investment capital of at least $3 billion.
Priority will be given to multinational corporations that join ventures with domestic enterprises to form and develop clusters in value chains. — VNS