Southeast Asia Information Port (www.dnyxxg.com) reports that Ho Chi Minh City is transforming its investment attraction strategy, shifting from a focus on the quantity of investments to prioritizing high-tech projects with industrial-driving effects. The city is particularly targeting strategic sectors such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, data centers, and R&D to attract investment, aiming to build a globally competitive high-tech industrial ecosystem.
At a press conference on the socio-economic situation held on the afternoon of June 18, an official from the Ho Chi Minh City High-Tech Park Management Committee introduced that the city has launched a new generation of foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction strategy. The core focus is on project quality, investment returns, and technology transfer capabilities, rather than simply pursuing growth in investment scale or the number of projects.
Currently, a number of landmark projects have been implemented in various strategic sectors. In the semiconductor sector, companies such as BESI, Genbyte, and Dynamic Test Solutions have successively established operations in chip R&D, testing, and packaging. In the artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure sector, major projects such as the $508 million data center cluster project and the $480 million Starmason project have been successfully implemented.
The influx of foreign investment has not only provided financial support to the local economy but has also significantly boosted the growth of domestic industries. Data shows that the proportion of Vietnamese domestic investment in high-tech parks has increased from 10%-12% to 17%-18%. Local companies such as Gremsy, Humasis-IVD Vietnam, Mismart, and Orioled are gradually breaking through core technologies and deeply integrating into the global supply chain, driving the formation of an industrial structure in Vietnam that is "based on foreign investment and centered on local development."
To adapt to the development needs of this new stage, Ho Chi Minh City is actively expanding its high-tech industry development space. The Vietnamese Prime Minister recently officially approved the planning and construction of a nearly 195-hectare high-tech park expansion area in Long Phuc Ward. This area will be planned and constructed according to the principles of "green, clean, and digital," with a clear development goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
Furthermore, Ho Chi Minh City is also cooperating with the Ho Chi Minh City National University to develop a strategic technology center on a site exceeding 52 hectares. The center will be divided into multiple functional zones, covering core businesses such as high-tech manufacturing, artificial intelligence services, data center construction, scientific research and innovation, talent training, and technology enterprise incubation, forming a complete industrial chain support.
The Municipal High-Tech Park Management Committee revealed that it will implement stricter investor screening standards in the future, comprehensively raising the entry threshold for projects. Specific requirements include: investment density of no less than US$100 million per hectare for data center projects, no less than US$20.4 million per hectare for high-tech manufacturing projects, and no less than US$11.5 million per hectare for R&D projects. At the same time, investors must commit to implementing relevant plans regarding R&D investment, talent training, technology transfer, and increasing the localization rate of industries.
However, the local investment environment still faces multiple challenges: overlapping administrative procedures and low efficiency; insufficient supply of highly qualified professionals; increasingly scarce available land resources for direct development; and significant pressure on the construction of specialized infrastructure in fields such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and data centers.
Faced with increasingly fierce international investment competition, Ho Chi Minh City has made it clear that it will no longer rely on preferential policies or low-cost advantages to attract investment. Instead, it will focus on building a comprehensive competitive advantage through institutional development, establishing an innovation ecosystem, improving regional connectivity infrastructure, and cultivating a pool of high-tech talent. At the same time, the city government will intensify its efforts to clean up and rectify the situation, resolutely reclaiming land from long-term idle projects, projects with lagging construction progress, or projects with low land use efficiency, thus freeing up ample space for high-quality high-tech projects.
From a long-term development perspective, Ho Chi Minh City's core objective is to cultivate a group of high-tech enterprises with independent intellectual property rights and local brands, enabling them to deeply participate in and even lead the global supply chain, thereby achieving a qualitative leap in the quality and efficiency of industrial development.
