A view of Vinhomes Times City. — VNS Photo

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Ha Noi will develop a transparent investment environment that is suitable with the international integration process and attract more overseas Vietnamese investors, Le Hong Son, deputy chairman of the People's Committee of Ha Noi, said at a meeting between the municipal authorities and overseas Vietnamese businessmen in Ha Noi yesterday.

The meeting saw the participation of Le Quoc Thinh, vice chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese (SCOV) and 100 Vietnamese overseas entrepreneurs from 17 countries and territories.

During the meeting, Son spoke about the socio-economic development results in Ha Noi during recent years and also the highly appreciated contributions of overseas Vietnamese people to the socio-economic development of the nation and also the capital city.

He expected overseas Vietnamese to continue their contributions to Ha Noi's socio-economic development in the future.

Meeting in Vinh Phuc

Meanwhile, the northern Vinh Phuc Province would create favourable conditions for investors in general and overseas Vietnamese in particular to invest in the locality, said a provincial People's Committee official.

Nguyen Van Tri, deputy general secretary and chairman of the provincial People's Committee, also told a meeting of around 150 Vietnamese entrepreneurs from 18 countries worldwide in the province's Vinh Thinh Resort on Monday that they had achieved higher economic growth over the past few years than the average level of the country together with a stable and increasing contribution from the State budget.

Vinh Phuc has been one of the few localities which could balance its budget since 2004. Last year, its budget collection was more than VND25 trillion – the highest level so far. The province has gradually increased the portion of industries, construction and services. It is also well-known as an automobile and motorcycle production centres in the country.

He said the province had also striven for reforms in administrative procedures, thus improving the business environment and its competitiveness index. It has focussed on building infrastructure, and enhancing training of human resources.

The province also promulgated preferential policies to attract investors in the electronics, telecommunication, and mechanical and support industry.

Le Quoc Thinh, SCOV's vice chairman, said at the meeting in Vinh Phuc Province that they felt the attention of the government in general and the province in particular for overseas Vietnamese.

"However, we feel that we should be given more responsibility in building a relationship between Viet Nam and other countries as well as contributing to the country's development," Thinh said.

Nguyen Thi Mai, an overseas Vietnamese in Russia, said her family often visited Viet Nam twice a year.

"I always see changes in Viet Nam each time. I have travelled to several localities and invested in the real estate sector in Da Nang and Thanh Hoa," Mai said.

She added that she saw potential in Vinh Phuc Province and would have meetings with the provincial leaders to discuss some housing projects in the province.

Hoang Dinh Thang, Head of the Overseas Vietnamese Association in the Czech Republic and director of Sovia Plaza Vinh Phuc commercial centre, said that after 30 years of living in the Czech Republic, he came back to Viet Nam and invested into Khai Quang Industrial Zone (IZ) in 2003 and the centre in 2008.

"I feel that I have contributed a small part for my country as both the IZ and centre have been operating well," Thang added.

Overseas Vietnamese also discussed opportunities and difficulties they faced when investing in Viet Nam. They also shared experiences and knowledge on production and management to achieve the best results. They also suggested some recommendations to improve Viet Nam's business environment. There are some 4.5 million Vietnamese who are living in 59 countries around the world. — VNS