Hanoi (VNA) – Hanoi needs to use adifferent approach in order to attract and effectively use foreign directinvestment (FDI), given new opportunities and challenges that are expected topop up in the next 10 years, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue said at aworking session with municipal leaders on January 29.

Hue suggested the capital city enhanceinvestment and development cooperation, and consider foreign investors as importantpartners.

It is necessary to select investors andinvestment fields, and build an independent and self-reliant economy in linewith the process of international integration, he stressed.

By December 31, 2018, Hanoi had nearly 4,500 validinvestment projects with total registered capital of 36.6 billion USD, saidVice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Doan Toan.

In 2018, Hanoi led the nation in FDI attractionwith 7.5 billion USD, up 2.18 times against the previous year, the highestlevel over the past 30 years since its implementation of the policy to attractforeign investment, Toan noted.

The most attractive fields include real estate(29.53 percent), the processing and manufacturing industry (20.1 percent), andinformation communication (11.48 percent).

Japan is currently the biggest investor withnearly 10.2 billion USD, followed by Singapore with 6 billion USD, and theRepublic of Korea with 5.48 billion USD.

To reap these outcomes, Hanoi has met directly withinvestors to discuss their short- and long-term investment plans in the city,said Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung.

The city has also worked to improve theenvironment, including efforts to collect and treat waste, or deal with airpollution, and reform administrative investment procedures, he added.

In 2019-2020, Hanoi has defined some priorityindustries to draw investment in, towards joining global value chains andoptimising the city’s advantages and strengths.

It also identified key markets to expand in,such as the US, the European Union (EU), Japan, and the Republic of Korea.

The city will focus on attracting high-tech,high added value, and environmentally friendly projects, while studying theestablishment of a financial and high-tech centre at national and regionallevels.–VNA