HCMCity (VNA) - Industrial zones in Ho Chi Minh City hope to attractinvestments worth 500 million USD in 2017, according to the HCM City ExportProcessing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA).

Exportsby companies situated in industrial zones (IZs) and export processing zones(EPZs) are expected to top 6 billion USD this year, Tran Cong Khanh, head ofthe HEPZA office, told a press meeting on December 30, 2016.

HEPZAcontinues to encourage investment in four key industries, including mechanicalengineering, electronics and IT, chemicals and food processing, and supportingindustries, he said.

Toachieve the target, it plans to expand Le Minh Xuan IZ and complete the thirdphase of Hiep Phuoc IZ.

Itwill develop areas set aside for supporting industries in Hiep Phuoc, Le MinhXuan No.3 and Automotive-Mechanical IZs.

TranViet Ha, head of the investment management department, said foreign directinvestment halved in 2016 to 255.61 million USD.

Investmentsby domestic enterprises were worth 5.2 trillion VND (237.71 million USD), ayear-on-year decrease of 14 percent, he said.

Heattributed the decline to a shift in investment towards high-tech industriesinstead of labour-intensive sectors, meaning there was a fall in investment insectors like textiles and footwear.

Exportsby enterprises in IZs and EPZs were estimated at 5.86 billion USD.

Atotal of 1,385 projects with a combined investment of 9.22 billion USD,including 535 FDI projects worth 5.41 billion USD, are operating in IZs andEPZs.

Theyemploy more than 285,700 workers, including 2,346 foreign nationals.-VNA