Hanoi lured more than US$6.17 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) during January to July, making it the country’s largest seven-month FDI attractor, accounting for 26.9% of the total FDI commitments in in the country, according to data of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).
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Several big-ticket projects have lifted Hanoi to the top position. Notable schemes includes the US$4 billion-plus smart-city project invested by Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo in Dong Anh district.
Another big investment is the Lotte Mall Hanoi project by South Korean giant Lotte Group. This US$600-million project is a complex comprising of a shopping mall, hotel, office space and apartments.
The increase in the number of newly-licensed and additionally-funded projects has shown the investors’ long term plan in Hanoi as well as the huge attraction of the city.
The achievement is attributed to Hanoi’s focus on administrative reform and investment environment improvement, said Nguyen Anh Dung, head of the Foreign Investment Division under the Hanoi Department of Planning and Investment.
Long term outlooks
Until now, Hanoi remains nationally leading in administrative reform as well as enterprise supporting measures. The city has proactively applied high technology in business registration, tax declaration and payment, etc.
Along with that, Hanoi has actively held forums, business-matching events as open platforms for dialogues between businesses and municipal authorities. It is the way for Hanoi to come along and hear the voices of foreign firms.
During the conference “Hanoi 2018- Investment Cooperation and Development”, the Hanoi People’s Committee handed investment decisions and licenses for 71 projects with a total investment of VND400 trillion (US$17.5 billion), including 11 FDI projects worth more than US$5.428 billion).
The event also saw the signing of 24 memoranda of understanding between Hanoi and other localities, Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park and domestic and foreign investors for cooperation in multiple fields with a combined investment worth an estimated VND70 trillion (approximately US$3 billion).
According to the Hanoi Statistics Office, during the first seven months of 2018, foreign invested sector maintained its growth momentum with revenues hitting US$14.791 billion, or 48.3% of the year’s projections, up 3.6% year-on-year. The result also proved the bright outlooks for Hanoi capacity in luring more investments.
Bui Ngoc Tuan, vice director of Deloitte Vietnam commented that foreign investors, when eyeing a new investment destination, often care about profit, incentives provided. Hanoi owns features of a big city with a favorable position, key role in connecting regional trade.
The city also ranks top nationally in high technology application and making all the policies transparent. All of these advantages and measures help hold foreign investors' foot in Hanoi, said Tuan from Deloitte Vietnam.
