The HCMC Chairman made the statement while chairing the ‘Meeting Between City Leaders and the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Business Community 2025’ organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) yesterday. The event attracted more than 400 delegates.
At the conference, Deputy Director Nguyen Thanh Toan of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Finances shared that Ho Chi Minh City is calling for investment in 20 key projects across sectors such as finance, data, renewable energy, logistics, smart urban development, and high technology. These projects are designed to serve as growth engines, supporting the city’s vision of becoming a leading regional hub for finance, technology, and innovation.
During the conference, many foreign direct investment enterprises recognized Ho Chi Minh City as a strategic investment destination in the region, citing its transparent, dynamic business environment and clear long-term vision. FDI companies expressed interest in deeper participation in four priority areas such as green transition and sustainable development, digital technology, innovation, and financial services; knowledge infrastructure; and urban and environmental technology.
Executive Director Travis Mitchell of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AmCham) highlighted strong potential for cooperation between U.S. businesses and Ho Chi Minh City in digital trade, aviation, high-tech agriculture, and smart logistics.
Representative of the British Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam Kenneth Atkinson said that British investors are particularly interested in the International Financial Center, green finance, fintech, renewable energy, education and vocational training, healthcare, digital economy, artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, as well as trade and bilateral investment opportunities.
Meanwhile, investors from Europe, Australia, South Korea, and Japan also expressed optimism about cooperation potential in areas such as fintech, green real estate, data centers, waste treatment, waste-to-energy generation, and high-skilled vocational training.
Besides belief and opportunities, the associations also raised difficulties that FDI enterprises are facing, primarily: administrative procedures remain cumbersome, the licensing process is inconsistent across departments and sectors, slowing down project progress; some policies regarding taxes, fees, land, and customs lack synchronization, which reduces the competitiveness of the investment environment.
According to Vice Chairman Erick Contreras of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham), enterprises expected the city to increase transparency, digitize the licensing process, improve logistics infrastructure and public transport, and simultaneously establish the 'green and digitized FDI single-window mechanism' soon to reduce the time for administrative procedures and facilitate the investment process for businesses.
Speaking at the conclusion of the conference, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc affirmed that the city consistently adheres to the motto: “The administration accompanies the enterprise, and the enterprise accompanies the city.” He acknowledged the candid feedback from the FDI business community on various issues such as infrastructure, logistics costs, administrative procedures, environment, clean energy, high-quality human resources, circular economy, and innovation.
According to the Chairman, these contributions are a valuable source of material to help the city continue to perfect its policies and overcome challenges to reach the stature of an international megacity, where domestic and foreign enterprises collaboratively shape a green and sustainable future.
Sharing the city's development goals, Chairman Nguyen Van Duoc stated that Ho Chi Minh City is entering a new development phase, aiming to become a regional and international megacity, escaping the “middle-income trap” and the traditional processing model, and moving towards a knowledge-based, innovative, green, and digital economy.
According to the new planning orientation, Ho Chi Minh City is expanding its development space along three zones and five dynamic axes. The three zones include the high-tech industry and technology capital; the marine economy capital with two spearheads—seaport logistics and entertainment services; and the International Financial Center, science and technology, and innovation.
Moreover, the city is focusing on developing five main pillars such as high-tech industry, logistics associated with seaports, aviation, and free trade zones; the International Financial Center, tourism and cultural industry, and high-quality education and healthcare. Concurrently, the city is building three strategic development corridors, including the North-South corridor, the coastal corridor, and the East-West corridor.
Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc emphasized that the city is accelerating administrative reform, reducing time, costs, and simplifying dossiers, and establishing a direct dialogue channel between enterprises and leaders to promptly resolve difficulties and support investors.
The Chairman of the HCMC People's Committee stressed that the city is committed to protecting the lawful rights and interests of investors, creating a transparent, stable, and friendly environment for enterprises to invest with confidence in the long term. The success of FDI enterprises is the measure of the effectiveness of the administration's accompaniment.
He called on investors to share core technology, management knowledge, and experience in human resource training, working with Ho Chi Minh City to build a sustainable development ecosystem and a ‘win-win’ cooperation culture.
