Last year, enterprises in IPs and EPZs invested a total of US$608.8 million, a year-on-year increase of 47.8 per cent.— VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY (Biz Hub)— Industrial parks (IPs) and export processing zones (EPZs) in HCM City hope to attract US$550 million in investment capital this year, an increase of ten per cent compared to last year, according to HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA).

Enterprises are being encouraged to invest in high technology sectors, supporting industries for high-tech development and mechanics, electronics-informatics, chemical and food-processing sectors, said Nguyen Tan Phuoc, deputy head of HEPZA.

More than 408 hectares of land and 67,400 sq.m of factories are in place in Tan Phu Trung, Dong Nam, An Ha, Hiep Phuoc – Phase No.2 IZ and Tan Thuan EPZ, to create favourable conditions for investors, Phuoc said at a conference on the tasks of IPs and EPZs for 2014, held on Tuesday.

The Vie-Pan Techno Park project, which is expected to complete in October, will attract a flow of investment from small and medium Japanese enterprises supporting high-tech industry, he said.

Last year, enterprises in IPs and EPZs invested a total of US$608.8 million, a year-on-year increase of 47.8 per cent.

Of that figure, foreign enterprises invested US$363 million, a year-on-year increase of 74.9 per cent.

Japanese enterprises had the largest investment capital, accounting for 45.7 per cent of the total, followed by Singapore (25 per cent), then Australia (13.7 per cent).

Domestic enterprises invested a total of US$245.6 million, a year-on-year increase of 20 per cent.

Export turnover for enterprises in IPs and EPZs reached US$5.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13 per cent.

Last year, 78 projects were granted building permits, including 29 new construction projects and 49 factory expansion projects.

Seventeen kindergarten projects for the children of workers in IPs and EPZs and 2,200 worker's boarding-house projects in Linh Trung II EPZ, will start construction this year.

So far, 12 worker's boarding-houses have been put into operation in eight IPs and EPZs, providing nearly 18,000 lodging-rooms for workers.

Other completed social infrastructure projects in IPs and EPZs include, five kindergartens, seven supermarkets and three price-stabilisation stores.

Eight IPs and EPZs installed automated sewage-monitoring systems and the remaining IPs will complete the installation by the first quarter this year.

To date, more than 270,000 employees are working in IPs and EPZs in HCM City. — VNS