Industrial parks and export processing zones in HCM City attracted investment worth US$197.86 million in the first quarter of 2016, a year-on-year decline of 53.4 per cent, according to the HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA).
The Binh Chieu Industrial Park in HCMC.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) accounted for $115.67 million, a 69.5 per cent fall.
This included a $35.5 million project by Yazaki Eds Vietnam Co Ltd in the Tan Phu Trung Industrial Park and a $30 million increase in its capital by Furukawa Automotive Parts Vietnam Co Ltd, both in the automobile support industry.
Vietnamese firms invested a total of $82.2 million, a year-on-year increase of 79.5 per cent.
HEPZA targets total investment of $700 million this year, and wants companies to invest in areas like high technology and supporting industries, electronics, IT and chemicals.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Tran Cong Khanh, head of the HEPZA office, said 61 projects have wound up and 20 others have temporarily halted operations.
Thirty five others are in the process of completing legal procedures for shutting down, he said.
In the first quarter 38 projects were licensed and six have already become operational.
Exports were worth $1.2 million, an increase of 17 per cent.
More than 285,000 workers are employed by companies based in IPs and EPZs, an increase of 9,580.
The number of foreign workers has risen by 3 per cent to 2,112.
The companies need to hire more than 25,300 people this year, mostly for manual work.
VNS