HCMC – The first half of the year saw new foreign direct investment (FDI) capital in the processing zones and industrial parks in HCMC double compared to the same period last year.
According to Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, office manager of the HCMC Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA), fresh investments, including from new and operational projects, amounted to around US$272 million in the first six months, representing nearly 50% of the full-year plan.
However, the overall investment capital in the January-June period dropped by 65.52% against last year, driven by a sharp decrease in investment from domestic businesses, HEPZA said. Specifically, total domestic capital stood at nearly US$73.2 million, down by 89.42% year-on-year.
In contrast, the FDI capital injected into projects in the industrial parks and processing zones increased significantly to US$198.82 million, doubling the figures from the same period last year.
Authorities attributed this strong surge in FDI capital primarily to capital adjustments, totaling nearly US$189 million, made by nine active projects. Meanwhile, the FDI sector only reported nine new projects during the period, with total pledged capital of nearly US$10 million.
In the second half of the year, HEPZA plans to continue developing Pham Van Hai I and Pham Van Hai II industrial parks and convert five selected processing zones and industrial parks on a trial basis. This year, HEPZA aims to attract US$550 million in investment capital.
By June 2024, HCMC had had 1,715 projects invested in processing zones and industrial parks, including 561 FDI projects with total registered capital of nearly US$7.3 billion and 1,154 domestic projects with registered capital of around US$6.33 billion.
