HCM City, Hanoi Rank among Top Emerging Market Cities for FDI

Vietnam’s two largest cities have been listed among the top emerging market cities that are attractive to FDI.


             HCM City is among the top emerging market cities for FDI. Photo: SkyscraperCity

Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi occupy the 10th and 17th positions, respectively, among the 25 most foreign direct investment (FDI)-friendly emerging market cities across the global, according to fDi’s Global Cities of the Future 2016/17.

Chinese cities dominate the list, with Shanghai and Beijing taking the highest places and Tianjin, Guangzhou and Shenzhen also being present.

Thailand’s Bangkok is the third Southeast Asian metropolis on the list, ranking 9th.

In the top 25 overall ranking, that includes emerging and developed countries, Singapore has retained its title of fDi’s Global City of the Future, with London holding strong in second place and Dublin edging out Hong Kong to claim third.

Together with Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, Vietnam has surged as a foreign direct investment (FDI) magnet in Southeast Asia when FDI flows into the four countries soared 38% last year, thanks to a rapid rise in investment in Vietnam by South Korean companies over the past several years, led by electronics groups Samsung and LG.

Vietnam led the CLMV bloc, taking in $11.8 billion worth of investment, a 28% increase, according to the ASEAN Investment Report 2016.

FDI pledges in Vietnam fell 10.5% year-on-year in the 11 months through November to $18.1 billion. However, disburse of FDI increased 8.3% to $14.3 billion.

Actual FDI in Vietnam is expected to reach a record high of $15 billion in 2016, after rising 17.4% to $14.5 billion last year, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the recent Vietnam Development Forum, an annual dialogue between the Vietnamese government and donors.

Tuan Minh / BizLIVE