HCM City reports six-fold increase in FDI

HCM City (VNA) - Ho Chi Minh City , Vietnam 's southern largest
economic hub, absorbed more than 8 billion USD in foreign direct investment
(FDI) in the first nine months of this year, a record six-fold year-on-year
rise.

Of the amount, 7.83 billion USD came from 405 newly licensed projects and
the remainder was added to 110 existing projects, reported the city's
Statistics Department.

Real estate remained the biggest FDI recipient during the January-September
period, followed by IT, finance and industry.

Projects of note included a 3.5 billion USD project funded by Malaysia 's
Berjaya Land Bhd Corporation to develop urban centres and universities, the
1.2 billion USD Thu Thiem software park, and the 930 million USD Vietnam
Financial Centre in the city's District 10.

These achievements are attributed to HCM City 's efficient
implementation of solutions to curb inflation, promote economic development,
and speed up administrative reform regarding licensing procedures and
project site clearance.

The foreign-invested sector led other economic sectors in terms of
industrial production, posting a growth rate of 19 percent compared with a
mere 4 percent recorded by the state sector and 11.2 percent by the
non-state area.

HCM City has to date housed 3,045 valid FDI projects totalling 25.3
billion USD, over 9.5 billion USD higher than that a year ago.-