HCM City ramps up investment cooperation with Dutch businesses

This was one of the key issues that captured the attention of Dutch businesses at a seminar held on February 28 between municipal leaders and Dutch businesses hosted by Phan Van Mai, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee .

Phuc Nguyen, chairman of the Dutch Business Association Vietnam (DBAV), mentioned the difficulties that businesses and investors are current facing.

According to him, administrative reform processes and procedures have seen improvements, although there are still some procedures that are slow and have so far failed to meet the expectations of foreign-invested enterprises (FDI).

Dutch firms also proposed the municipal authorities deal with traffic congestion, especially on roads connecting with seaports and nearby cities and provinces; control air and noise pollution and flooding, as well as develop a green and friendly environment.

Dutch Ambassador to Vietnam Kees van Baar said that apart from capacities of dealing with challenges in terms of climate change, flooding prevention, environmental and wastewater treatment, Dutch enterprises have advantages in hi-tech, digital transformation in logistics, transport infrastructure, as well as green and renewable energy.

According to the diplomat, the city must try to implement sustainable planning schemes which seek to improve living quality and better serve citizens.

Mai expressed his confidence that construction of several urban railway routes will be fully completed before 2035. The southern metropolis will therefore focus on the development of green and circular economy, digital transformation and logistics, he said, adding that there remained room to grow bilateral co-operation in digital transformation.

Ho Chi Minh City always welcomes investors and aims to become a hub of economics, services, logistics, digital transformation, and innovation, he said, therefore, municipal leaders always listen to feedback from the business community. In addition, they are fully committed to taking practical steps in order to address any obstacles faced by financiers, thereby creating the best possible conditions for Dutch businesses to invest in the city.

The dialogue took place at a time when Vietnam and the Netherlands are celebrating the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations. The Netherlands is not only an important partner of the city in climate change, but also its biggest European trade partner and investor.

Last year’s two-way trade between Ho Chi Minh City and the Netherlands reached US$1.6 billion. Indeed, the Netherlands represents the fifth biggest investor in the city with 183 projects worth more than US$5 billion.