Ha Noi topped with a score of 3.86 points out of 5, while HCM City scored 3.81. Chengdu was third with 3.52, followed by Shanghai with 3.36 and Qingdao with 3.22 points. — Photo: VNA

HCM CITY (Biz Hub) — South Korean business executives consider Ha Noi and HCM City the most investor-friendly out of 10 cities in China, Viet Nam and three other Asian countries, a survey by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade has found.

The other cities in the fray were Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai in India, Shanghai and Qingdao in China, Yangon in Myanmar, and Jakarta in Indonesia.

Ha Noi topped with a score of 3.86 points out of 5, while HCM City scored 3.81. Chengdu was third with 3.52, followed by Shanghai with 3.36 and Qingdao with 3.22 points.

Delhi and Yangon obtained 2.46 and 2.06.

Besides, 53.7 per cent and 51.6 per cent of those polled said the investment climate in Ha Noi and HCM City would get better.

In contrast, they expect it to worsen in Qingdao and Shanghai due to rising costs, including wages, intensifying competition and unstable foreign exchange rates.

Over 19 per cent said investment-related costs are cheap in Delhi, while 22.2 per cent said HCM City has high quality and ample manpower.

According to the Vietnamese Foreign Investment Agency, South Korean firms were the biggest foreign investors in Viet Nam last year with investments of US$6.72 billion, accounting for almost 30 per cent of total FDI.

South Korean firms have invested over $43.64 billion in 4,770 projects in Viet Nam, accounting for nearly 18 per cent of the country's FDI. — VNS