HCM City, “magnet” to attract investment from RoK’s conglomerates

Many big RoK businesses have made commitments to pour more investment into the city during a visit this month to the RoK by a Vietnamese delegation led by Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Dinh La Thang, the Sai gon Giai phong newspaper reported.

The newspaper quoted Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Van Khoa, the RoK is at present the city’s fourth foreign biggest investor with 1,252 projects with total investment of US$4.3 billion. Bilateral trade in the first eight months of this year was more than US$2.6 billion. The city also welcomed about 240,000 tourists from the northeast Asian country.

During meetings with the Vietnamese delegation, Hyosung’s Vice President Yoo Sun Hyung revealed that the group plans to pour US$1.12 billion into Vietnam from 2016-2020. The group is eying five potential fields in the city, which are petrochemical technology, LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) harbour and storage, electricity, environment and construction.

On the occasion, the RoK’s biggest low-price retailer, Emart signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to invest in the city to 2020 with total estimated capital of about US$200 million. The company is looking for suitable local partners to expand its business.

An MoU on importing and exporting food between the city and the CJ CheilJadang Group, a RoK food company, was also signed.

President of Lotte Group, Shin Dong Bin said the group made a phase 1 deposit of 5.5 million USD for its Thu Thiem Eco Smart City project in the city. The group is also interested in the Ben Thanh- Thu Thiem metro route while continuing to expand its existing businesses such as Lotte Mart, fast-food, cinema chains, and home shopping.

According to a recent survey of the RoK Institute for Industrial Economics, and Trade, Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City were ranked first and second in the list of most favourable investment environments in Asia, followed by India’s Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai; China’s Shanghai, Chengdu and Qingdao; Yangon (Myanmar); and Jakarta (Indonesia).

Hoping for a new wave of investment from the RoK, Khoa affirmed Vietnam is applying open- door policies, and the city has created favourable condition for foreign investors.

The newspaper also quoted RoK Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-Ahn as saying in his meeting with the HCM City delegation that Ho Chi Minh City is a model locality for dynamic development and creativity in the region. He also encouraged RoK enterprises and localities to bolster investment in the city and Vietnam as a whole.

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