Of the figure, US$421 million were invested in 44 new projects, up 5.1% in the number of projects and 180% in capital while US$84.6 million were added to 20 existed ones, up 53.9% and 131%, respectively.

Le Hoang Quan, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, said FDI garnering in the first two months obtained significant progress, showing that reform policies have paid off. In the coming time, the completion of Dong Nam and Ba Son industrial zones will open new prospects for attracting FDI to the city.

Meanwhile, director of HCM City’s Planning and Investment Department Thai Van Re said domestic investment has also been optimistic with the increase in both the number of registered businesses and capital. For instance, 3,826 businesses were granted investment licences with a combined capital of VND18,297 billion, a rise of 58% in business number and 34% in registered capital value against the same period last year.

Also in the first two months of this year, foreign businesses decided to invest more than US$367 million into the city’s industrial and export-processing zones.