Industrial parks in Ho Chi Minh City attract record high $1 bln investment in 2023

Foreign and domestic investors poured slightly over $1 billion, an all-time high, into industrial parks (IPs) and export processing zones (EPZs) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s leading economic hub, in 2023, up 84% year-on-year.

At a Wednesday press meeting, Hua Quoc Hung, head of the HCMC Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA), commented that the amount represented a drastic increase from around $480-800 million per year prior to 2023.

The 2023 tally includes more than $222 million in foreign direct investment and $789.35 million in domestic direct investment, up 13.38% and 124% from 2022, respectively.

The surge in investment was driven by a $624 million data center, information technology and telecommunications project by military-run telco Viettel. This project will occupy four hectares, helping raise the average investment rate in IPs and EPZs in the city.

The average investment rate by foreign-invested projects in IPs and EPZs now stands at $11.58 million per hectare.

In 2024, HEPZA aims to attract $550 million in new investment and an average investment rate of $8.5 million per hectare.

The authority also plans to convert five IPs and EPZs, namely Tan Thuan, Tan Binh, Cat Lai, Hiep Phuoc, and Binh Chieu, into zones nesting eco-industrial and high-tech projects, in addition to developing 2.5 hectares of high-rise workshops.

HEPZA has been allowed to add Pham Van Hai 1 and 2 IPs with a combined area of 668ha to the city’s IP development master plan.

The city is now home to 17 IPs and two EPZs covering more than 5,000 ha.