A view of Hà Nội. Up to now, Singapore's registered FDI in Hà Nội has reached $11.4 billion. VNA/VNS Photo Tuấn Anh

HÀ NỘI Hà Nội has been implementing many mechanisms and policies to attract foreign investment, including from Singapore.

Nguyễn Mạnh Quyền, vice chairman of the Hà Nội People's Committee, spoke at a conference on trade cooperation and connection between Hà Nội and Singapore held in Hà Nội on Tuesday.

The event was orgainsed by the Hà Nội Department of Industry and Trade in collaboration with the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore, the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI), and the Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

The mechanisms and policies include promoting infrastructure in industrial parks and strengthening administrative procedure reform for foreign investors.

The city will also step up the application of information technology in implementing administrative procedures in business registration, investment registration, tax, insurance and land.

Quyền said that in recent years, Hà Nội has always been at the top of localities in terms of favourable investment environment.

The capital city now gives priority to quality projects, and products with added value and high competitiveness in some key fields such as urban infrastructure development, smart city construction, supporting industries using modern and environmentally friendly technologies; and projects in the field of information technology, research and development, tourism and financial services; human resource training; and high-tech agriculture.

Hà Nội identifies Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan (China), the US and the EU as key markets to attract investment.

Singapore currently ranks second among 140 countries and territories investing in Việt Nam. It is also a strategic investor of Hà Nội, focusing on real estate business, construction, accommodation and catering services, science, technology and education, he said.

The conference is expected to create opportunities for exchange and connection in investment, trade and services between Hà Nội and Singapore. This city hopes that the businesses of the two sides will promote cooperation to become important, reliable and sustainable partners of each other in the future.

Hà Nội will support investors to study investment laws, policies and procedures; and provide information about the investment environment, policies and potential to foreign businesses, Quyền said.

In 2022, Hà Nội attracted $1.77 billion of foreign investment, up 15 per cent compared to 2021, ranking 6th in the country in terms of FDI attraction.

Singapore is a strategic investor of Hà Nội, in second place after Japan. Up to now, Singapore's registered FDI in Hà Nội has reached $11.4 billion, including $616 million or 34.7 per cent of the total investment capital in Hà Nội in 2022.

Nguyễn Quang Vinh, VCCI standing vice chairman, said that Singapore is Hà Nội's main import and export market.

In 2022, the export turnover of Vietnamese goods to this market reached $615 million, accounting for 3.6 per cent of Hà Nội's total export value.

The main export items are machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts, accounting for 46.7 per cent of Hà Nội's total export turnover to Singapore. Others are wood, computers and components.

Kho Choon Keng, SCCCI chairman, said SCCCI is a large and reputable organisation in Singapore with about 5,000 members in many sectors. More than 30 large corporations and enterprises of Singapore joined this conference to look for cooperation opportunities with Hà Nội-based enterprises.

Singaporean businesses are accelerating investment in Hà Nội because Việt Nam has made an impressive recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic with a GDP growth rate of 8 per cent in 2022.

Many Singaporean companies seek investment opportunities in infrastructure, manufacturing, logistics, transportation, education, tourism, finance and agriculture in Việt Nam as well as Hà Nội.

"Singaporean businesses will expand their cooperation into new fields, such as sustainable development, renewable energy and the digital economy," Kho Choon Keng said.

However, the Singapore business representative also suggested that Hà Nội needs to create favourable conditions for Singaporean businesses in the process of connecting and cooperating with Vietnamese businesses.

At the same time, the city needs to publicise the planning of industries and land use plans, helping businesses easily access investment information.

At the conference, Hà Nội businesses wanted to connect with Singapore businesses in developing new and environmentally friendly products with low energy consumption. They expect to participate in the production chain and increase export turnover via participating in the distribution system in Singapore and take advantage of the Việt Nam-Singapore free trade agreement. VNS