Between January and August, Da Nang attracted a total of 43 new foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth 60 million USD, which is 4.6 times higher than in the same period last year.  In addition, 5 existing FDI projects in the city increased their capital by a total of nearly 895,000 USD. 

Workers at the Da Nang branch of the TCIE Vietnam Company

These figures indeed demonstrate that the city’s FDI attraction has now bounced back, after a significant decrease recorded in recent years, especially the 2011 - 2015 period.

Mr Le Canh Duong, the Director of the municipal Investment Support and Promotion Board, remarked that the positive results have been mainly attributed to the city’s great efforts in ensuring an open and transparent investment environment for both domestic and foreign investors, and issuing numerous preferential policies for them.

Moreover, effective measures have been taken to speed up administrative reforms, enhancing infrastructure, diversify services, and help businesses remove any obstacles to their operation. 

Last, but not least, one emphasis has been on boosting many investment promotion activities in such key foreign markets as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the USA and Germany made by representatives from the city authorities.

Most notably, the city leaders recently made working trips to Japan and South Korea to appeal for even more investors from these countries to Da Nang.  In detail, seminars on investment attraction were held in South Korean’s Daegu and Japan’s Tokyo, whilst investment promotion activities were conducted in Sakai and Osaka, both in Japan.   Through these events, the Da Nang guests appealed for businesses from these foreign localities to invest in aspects which the Vietnamese city boasts the great potential and strengths, including tourism, infrastructure development and IT.

During their stay in the two foreign countries, the city leaders also visited the Yamato Sewing Machine Mfg Co Ltd which is a leading Japanese manufacturer of industrial sewing machines.  The intention was to discuss the deployment of a project for manufacturing hi-tech sewing machines at the Da Nang Hi-tech Park in the future years.

The Da Nang visitors at the Yamato Sewing Machine company

In South Korea, the Da Nang guests also met with representatives from business which show off the great potential in the real estate sector, including Lotte E & C and Daehan A & C.

Apart from investment promotion activities, special heed has been paid to promoting diplomatic activities and international cooperation programmes. 

During 8-month period, the city leaders played host to a total of 16 international delegations.  During such receptions, many cooperation agreements on economic and cultural diplomacy were jointly signed to boost bilateral friendship and cooperation with foreign localities and international organisations worldwide.

Singapore is now Da Nang’s largest foreign investor with 23 projects worth 717.85 million USD in total, followed by Japan with 134 projects totalling 598.08 million USD.  The USA ranked third with 46 projects worth 517.86 million USD in total, followed by South Korea with 83 projects totalling 244.61 million USD.

According to the Deputy Director of the city’s Investment Support and Promotion Board, Mr Nguyen Ky Anh remarked that the amount of FDI inflows into Da Nang is now relatively low in comparison with other large localities nationwide. 

He, therefore, underscore the need for the city authorities to appeal for more FDI into projects using clean energy and technologies, and those involved hi- tech industry and other related fields.  This, thereby, will help to make Da Nang an environmentally- friendly city with sustainable development in the coming years.