ĐÀ NẴNG — As it prepares to host the 2017 APEC Summit, the central city is hoping a business convention in September will help it bolster its already-strong record of attracting foreign and domestic investment.

The city will host a business forum, Invest Đà Nẵng Forum, for more than 600 diplomats, business people, representatives of ministries, and organisations from Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) member countries. As a prelude to the 2017 APEC Summit November 5-11, it is expected to be the largest such event in the city’s history. 

After several years of high-profile development projects, including high-tech centres, a new road, and a new airport terminal, the Forum is expected to give Đà Nẵng further momentum.

Director of the Đà Nẵng Investment Promotion and Support Agency, Lê Cảnh Dương, said the three-day forum, running from September 29th to October 1^st will focus on eight investment fields that the city has been focused on, including infrastructure, real estate, high-tech parks and supportive industries, information technology (IT), high-tech farms, heath, education and tourism.

Dương told Việt Nam News that Prime Minister of Việt Nam will give a key speech on the official opening day at the Ariyana Đà Nẵng Exhibition & Convention Centre – the major convention centre of the 2017 APEC Summit.

It’s expected that investment licences for some projects will be granted at the forum, and a series of Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) and loan agreements will be signed, joining a slew of projects completed or underway in the central city.

A corner of Đà Nẵng at night. The city will host the Invest Đà Nẵng Forum from September 29th to October 1st of 2017. — VNS Photo Trần Lê Lâm

According to latest reports, Đà Nẵng has attracted 461 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth US$3.8 billion to date. In the first half of this year, the city granted investment licences to 36 foreign direct investment projects worth $32 million.

Earlier this month, the city listed 68 Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) projects, 22 of them in the hi-tech sector. From 2017-20, the projects call for investment from domestic and foreign businesses of $1.4 billion.

The city’s 1,010-ha high-tech park, which was built in 2013 in Hòa Vang District, 20km west of the city, has attracted six projects valued at $180 million from two Japanese and four domestic investors.

The Japanese investors – Tokyo Keiki Precision Technology Inc and Niwa Foundry – have officially begun operations at their plants in the park with total investment of $62 million, while the four domestic investors are still in the construction phase. 

FDI enterprises in Đà Nẵng earned revenue of $776 million – of which $522 million came from exports – and contributed $112 million to the State budget in 2015.

Last week, the city restarted construction of the 341ha Đà Nẵng Information Technology Park (DITP) in Hòa Vang District. The park was designed as the Silicon Valley of central Việt Nam. Total registered investment there stands at $278 million.

The city officially put into operation of the first 65km road section of the 140km Đà Nẵng-Quảng Ngãi Expressway on August 2.

The new terminal of Đà Nẵng International Airport also launched in May to host 150 flight arrivals and departures, 15,000 passengers and about 50 tonnes of cargo every day.

Đà Nẵng also plans to build Liên Chiểu port as a main logistics centre in ASEAN and within the East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC) that links Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Việt Nam.

Despite the central city’s focus on attracting investment, the forum won’t be all business; it will also include an exhibition, friendly tennis and golf competitions and tours of real estate projects and industrial parks in Đà Nẵng.— VNS