Speakers at the “HCM City-US Business Summit: Driving Partnership and Innovation for the Future” held on August 25 in HCM City. — VNS Photo Bo Xuan Hiep

HCM City will create the most favourable conditions for US businesses to invest in fields such as transport, urban infrastructure, smart city, agriculture, health, education, trade, and services, a top city official has said.

Speaking at the “HCM City-US Business Summit: Driving Partnership and Innovation for the Future” meeting yesterday, Nguyen Thien Nhan, secretary of the city Party Committee, said both Viet Nam and the US should put aside the past and establish partnerships in various fields.

“Over the past 25 years since the diplomatic normalisation began, bilateral relations have continued to achieve impressive results.

“Viet Nam is the 13th largest trading partner of the US, with two-way trade turnover reaching US$77 billion last year. The first half of this year saw bilateral trade hitting $38 billion, up 7 per cent year-on-year.”

With its favourable geographical location, improved infrastructure and attractive financial incentives, the city is a popular investment destination for businesses from countries globally, including the US, France and Italy, according to Nhan.

More than 160 US businesses have invested in it over the past 10 years.

Intel has since 2010 invested $1 billion in its production line in the city and its exports have exceeded $36 billion.

Nguyen Thanh Phong, chairman of the city People’s Committee, said Viet Nam-US relations were not simply a story of resolving the past.

They represented “a symbol of co-operation, trust-building and sharing the future,” he said.

“In this difficult pandemic period, the relationship once again demonstrates that both countries are making their co-operation more effective and innovative.

“We want to share with you the city’s vision to develop projects to build an innovative and interactive urban area in its eastern part, a smart city, and an international financial hub.”

The Government has already approved the city’s proposal to merge the eastern districts of 2, 9 and Thu Duc into one administrative unit, tentatively called ‘Thu Duc City’.

As the country’s most dynamic and largest city that accounts for 25 per cent of the GDP and 30 per cent of revenues, HCM City is home to the Quang Trung software park, the most successful IT model nation-wide, which now employs 10,000 workers and earns $500 million annually from software exports.

“The city would ceaselessly work to build a liveable, friendly and safe city for its people and the international community.

“We promise to enhance HCM City-US co-operation in all fields such as education, technology, economy, trade, investment, culture, people-to-people exchanges.”

Chad Ovel, chairman of AmCham Vietnam, said: “We are grateful to the Vietnamese Government for its impressive and transparent management of the pandemic in the country, which enables it to become one of the first economies in the world to reopen and begin its economic recovery”.

Mary Tarnowka, executive director of AmCham Vietnam, said the Vietnamese market was growing steadily with its many advantages such as abundant human resources and favourable policies and investment environment.

Viet Nam, especially HCM City, is expected to attract US businesses in sectors like technology, health, education, telecommunications, aviation, digital economy, renewable energy, and finance and banking, according to the director.

The one-day event also discussed investment strategies for high-tech supply chains and financial technology development. — VNS