HCMC sees positive changes in FDI attraction and GDP growth

VGP - Hồ Chí Minh City’s gross domestic product (GDP) stood at VND 74,197 billion in the first quarter of this year, up 11% against the same period last year, the municipal People’s Committee announced on March 29.

March 30, 2010 3:40 PM GMT+7

Hồ Chí Minh City’s economy continues to recover strongly in the 1^st

quarter of 2010

The city’s service sector grew 10.5%, industry and construction 11.7% and agriculture 6.2%, the committee’s Chairman Lê Hoàng Quân said at the conference on the first-quarter socio-economic development.

He urged leaders of the city’s departments and sectors to boost the socio-economic development and curb inflation so that the city can post a GDP growth rate of at least 11% this year.

He also required relevant agencies to coordinate with banks to create favorable conditions for enterprises to access loans and to timely deal with unemployment as well as labor shortages in the city.

Securing the status of top FDI lurer

Also in the first three months, Hồ Chí Minh City licensed 68 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with the total registered capital of US $378 million, many of which are involved in hi-tech, healthcare and education.

The city continued to be the leading locality nationwide that has lured the biggest amount of FDI. As of mid-March, the city had 3,604 operational FDI projects worth of US $27.8 billion.

The city is prioritizing investment in services, hi-tech, products with high added values, and environmentally friendly industries.

In 2009, the city licensed 369 FDI projects worth of US $841 million.

By Ngọc Vân