HCM City (VNS/VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City authorities promise to offercompetitive land rentals and other incentives at industrial parks (IPs) andexport processing zones (EPZs) besides improving the business environment andsimplifying administrative procedures to attract investment.

The city has earmarked lands on which infrastructure can be built to serveinvestors in industrial parks, according to its People’s Committee.

Seventeen of the city’s planned 19 EPZs and IZs are operational with almost1,800ha available to investors.

The city is speeding up investment in some new IPs like the 200ha Vinh Loc 3 IPin Binh Chanh district, and plans to expand the Hiệp Phước Industrial Park by392.89ha.

The city is expected to have 23 EPZs and IZs with a total of 5,797.62ha by theend of this year.

It has established a group chaired by Nguyen Thanh Phong, chairman of thePeople’s Committee, to reduce the investment licensing process by at least 50percent.

It is also committed to addressing all problems faced by businesses, who cancommunicate directly with the Department of Planning and Investment.

Dao Xuan Duc, deputy head of the HCM City Export Processing and IndustrialZones Authority (HEPZA), said the infrastructure at many of the city’s IPs andEPZs fell short of investors’ needs.

EPZs and IZs must invest in infrastructure to meet the investment needs ofbusinesses, he said.

“It is also necessary to set up zones for supporting industries to regulateland lease prices and attract investors into sectors targeted by the city andthe Government.”

Experts said the city should switch to newer models of IPs and EPZs to continueto attract investment, while ensuring it has appropriate incentives andpolicies during the transition process.

According to the General Statistics Office, the city attracted 1.6 billion USD worthof FDI in the first five months to rank third in the country behind only BacLieu (4 billion USD) and Ba Ria-Vung Tau (1.9 billion USD) provinces.

Vietnam remains appealing to foreign investors who continue to invest, especiallyin the southern economic hub comprising HCM City, despite the pandemic.

The city expects to welcome a wave of investments post-pandemic when US,European and Japanese investors move their production lines to Vietnam, expertshave said.

Priority should be given to high-tech projects that could produce high-qualityproducts, they said.

In 2019 the city had attracted $8.3 billion worth of foreign investment.

Before the outbreak the city had set itself a target of 8.5 percent economicgrowth this year.

The city aims to have 44,000 new businesses that create 135,000 jobs this year./.