Hanoi drew in more than US$5.9 billion in FDI in the first half of 2018, making it the country’s largest six-month FDI attractor for the first time in three decades, said Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung on June 17.

The annual conference “Hanoi 2018 – Investment and Development Cooperation” is held on June 17. 

He made the statement at the annual conference “Hanoi 2018 – Investment and Development Cooperation” in the capital city which saw the presence of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

During the conference, the Hanoi People’s Committee presented investment decisions and licenses for 71 projects with a total investment of VND397.33 trillion (over US$17 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 estimated up to VND70 trillion (approximately US$3 billion).

In the time ahead, Hanoi and provinces in the northern key economic region, Red River Delta, and Hanoi Capital Region will continue giving priority to and calling for more hi-tech projects that promote the use of new technologies and renewable energy, alongside projects that boost regional linkages and cooperation, Chung noted.

The city also prioritised projects to build affordable homes for low-income workers and others in the fields of waste treatment; hi-tech agriculture; slaughtering and processing of livestock and poultry; animal husbandry; processing of agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products; education; manufacturing and support industries, he said.

In the next few years, Hanoi plans to foster a knowledge economy and the application of information technology; actively take part in and seize opportunities from Industry 4.0 to improve productivity and develop new industries; and turn the city into a hub for start-ups and a smart city, he added.

In addition, the city will further enhance the local business climate, accelerate public administrative reforms and infrastructure development, adopt new policies to support enterprises and develop the city as the country’s centre of high-quality services. It will work to improve local living standards, in terms of water supply, use of green energy, waste treatment and air quality in a bid to ensure green and sustainable development.

VNA