HCM CITY — Cần Thơ City has attracted US$175.7 million of foreign direct investment (FDI) capital this year, including a South Korean shoe-production plant that will be the largest FDI project in the Mekong Delta region.

The plant, valued at $171 million, will be located in the 2B Hưng Phú Industrial Park.

The city also issued licences to two FDI projects worth a total of $4.26 million last month.

In 2015, Cần Thơ attracted only seven FDI projects with total registered capital of $19 million.

However, this year FDI has been far higher and is expected to continue to increase.

Foreign investors, especially from Japan and South Korea, have visited the area recently and expressed interest in doing business, according to Võ Thành Thống, chairman of Cần Thơ City’s People’s Committee.

“Cần Thơ is expected to issue licences for new FDI projects in the coming time,” Thống said.

To ensure sustainable development, the city has shifted priorities by focusing on the quality of projects, not just investment value.

Business areas that have been given priority include electronics, agricultural machinery, support industries, hi-tech agricultural and fisheries products, and transport and tourism infrastructure.

Logistics, garment and textiles, industrial parks, IT zones, hospitals and international schools are also among the city’s top priorities.

Total investment

To date, the city has attracted a total of 71 FDI projects with a total registered capital of $1.13 billion. Of the figure, total implemented capital has reached $358.8 million.

Most of the investors have been from Asia, including South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and Taiwan, in addition to Western countries like the US, Germany and France.

However, many of the projects over the years have been of small scale and have used outdated technologies. Co-operation between large foreign companies and their local counterparts has been inadequate, and little technology transfer has occurred.

The city aims to improve investment promotions to attract more quality foreign projects in the coming time.

Located on the south bank of the Hậu (Rear) River, a branch of the Mekong River, Cần Thơ is the largest city in the Mekong Delta, with a population of 1.2 million. — VNS