Foreign direct investment pledged for Ho Chi Minh City in t he firstquarter of the year surged by 109 percent year on year, according to thecity's Department of Planning and Investment.

This showsforeign investors have regained their confidence in the local economy,which made positive result in stabilising the macroeconomic situation.

Regarding new investment, some 78 FDI projects with a total investmentof about 160 million USD were licensed during the first quarter.

Specifically, the municipal People's Committee in late March gave thegreen light to Sanofi Vietnam Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Sanofi AventisGroup, to set up its third plant worth 75 million USD in the city'sHi-Tech Park in district 9.

In addition, 26 operational FDIprojects in the city were approved of adding 175.3 million USD morecapital for their expansion.

HCM City ’s EPZs and IZs inthe first quarter of 2013 lured a total 144.5 million USD worth of newinvestment, up by 21.4 percent over the same period last year, accordingto HCMC Export Processing Zone and Industrial Zone Authority (HEPZA).

The new investment included 122.65 million USD and 21.83 million USDworth of FDI and local investment, a 57.35 percent year-on-year rise buta 57.35 percent year-on-year drop, respectively.

The city’strade authorities, including the HCM City Trade and InvestmentPromotion Center, the Department of Planning and Investment, and the IPand EPZ Infrastructure Development Co, will jointly launch freshinvestment promotion campaigns in Japan, the Republic of Korea,Singapore, Taiwan, the US and Canada this year to attract more FDI tolocal IPs.-VNA