Hanoi to lead in attracting FDI in the first half of 2025:

With groundbreaking results in the first six months of 2025, the capital city not only affirmed its leading position but also opened up many opportunities for future development, especially with new mechanisms, policies, and clear development orientations.

Production line at Panasonic System Networks Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Thang Long Industrial Park). Photo: Quang Thai

Reasons for breakthroughs

Since 1986, Hanoi has consistently maintained its position as one of the leading localities nationwide in attracting FDI. The total cumulative FDI capital has reached approximately US$61.5 billion, with 7,710 active projects, placing Hanoi second nationwide.

Key sectors attracting significant investment include real estate (36.54%), manufacturing (23.61%), trade and commerce (12.43%), and professional and scientific activities (12.4%). The capital city has also attracted investment from 117 countries and territories, with Japan, Singapore, and South Korea being leading partners.

In particular, in the first six months of 2025, FDI inflows experienced a breakthrough growth, reaching over $3.67 billion, a 216% increase compared to the same period in 2024, and leading the country. Notably, 89 projects that increased their capital, with a total added value of $3.143 billion, contributed significantly to this impressive figure, demonstrating the confidence of existing investors.

Notable projects include those by Gamuda Group (Malaysia) with the Yen So Park Construction Project and the C2-Gamuda Gardens New Urban Area Project, the Nam Thang Long New Urban Area Project, and the Le Trong Tan – Parkcity Hanoi New Urban Area Project. Major investors in Hanoi during this period included Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, China, and South Korea.

This remarkable growth stems from a combination of factors. First and foremost, the attractiveness of large-scale investment projects demonstrates the strong confidence of international corporations in Hanoi's business environment and sustainable development potential.

Its strategic geographical location and integrated infrastructure are also key advantages, making Hanoi an important gateway with an increasingly modern transportation system, facilitating logistics and market connectivity. In addition, the abundant, high-quality workforce from hundreds of universities and colleges is a major competitive advantage, especially in technology and engineering fields.

Furthermore, the favorable investment and business environment is strengthened by the city government's efforts to improve administrative procedures, increase transparency in regulations, and implement preferential investment policies.

Ultimately, the large consumer market of over 8 million people and rising per capita income, along with significant potential for urban and service development, have created a solid foundation for Hanoi to not only attract but also retain investors.

Key mechanisms, policies, and potential for attracting FDI in Hanoi.

Over the past period, Hanoi has been proactively researching and developing flexible and effective mechanisms and policies to attract investment. The city focuses on investment incentives based on industry and location, especially in industrial parks and high-tech zones such as Hoa Lac, prioritizing high-tech fields, manufacturing, high-quality services, R&D, and innovation.

At the same time, Hanoi is also strengthening comprehensive support for businesses by establishing special task forces to promptly address difficulties and maintain regular dialogue channels.

Investing heavily in infrastructure is also a key focus, including urban infrastructure, digital infrastructure, and energy infrastructure, aiming to improve transportation systems, digital platforms, telecommunications, electricity, and water supply to meet the increasingly high production and business needs of investors.

Despite achieving impressive results, Hanoi still has enormous potential to attract FDI, especially in high value-added sectors. Hanoi is aiming to become a high-tech and semiconductor hub, with strong potential in research and development and innovation thanks to its abundant human resources.

There is also a huge demand for investment in smart city solutions and green infrastructure, renewable energy, and high-tech waste treatment. In addition, high-quality service projects such as finance, banking, tourism, healthcare, and education still have significant potential to attract FDI.

Furthermore, a capital city with a thousand years of cultural heritage always possesses many advantages that create a unique appeal for attracting investment and developing tourism. With 1,350 craft villages, including more than 300 traditional craft villages, Hanoi is known as the "land of a hundred crafts," having the largest number of craft villages in Vietnam and the largest number of craft villages in the world.

Currently, the production activities of Hanoi's craft villages provide employment for approximately 1 million rural workers and generate annual export revenue exceeding 250 million USD. In particular, with over 1,000 years of cultural heritage, the cultural values and creative abilities of the artisans in Hanoi's craft villages truly constitute a treasure trove, a valuable asset, and a significant resource that the city of Hanoi can exploit and develop.

To turn potential into reality, Hanoi is implementing key solutions. The city will selectively attract and prioritize high-tech, environmentally friendly projects with commitments to technology transfer and linkages with domestic businesses.

At the same time, Hanoi is focusing on attracting leading multinational corporations and investment funds specializing in technology. The development of specialized industrial parks and high-tech zones, especially the Hoa Lac High-Tech Park, to create an ideal destination for high-tech FDI projects is also being accelerated.

Ultimately, focused and targeted investment promotion, on-site investment promotion through international conferences and forums, and proactive connections with potential partners from Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, China, and Taiwan (China) will be key to maximizing the potential.

Disbursement of FDI capital - a bright spot in Hanoi's investment efficiency.

Besides the impressive results in attracting registered capital, Hanoi has paid special attention to accelerating the disbursement and implementation of FDI projects. In the first six months of 2025, the implemented capital of FDI projects reached approximately US$1.46 billion. This figure clearly demonstrates the effectiveness in converting registered capital into actual capital, entering into production and business activities.

A notable point is the significant increase in additional capital ($3.143 billion) out of a total of $3.67 billion attracted. This reflects the fact that existing projects are operating very effectively and have a continuous need for expansion, meaning that the disbursement rate of committed capital is progressing well.

Hanoi has been creating the most favorable conditions for projects to be implemented quickly, from licensing to land clearance, ensuring timely completion and quality, thereby building strong confidence for investors.

The significance of the amended Capital City Law in attracting investment.

The Capital City Law No. 39/2024/QH15, effective from June 28, 2024, is of immense importance, creating a new legal framework and a strong impetus for attracting investment to Hanoi. This law creates a unique and superior mechanism, granting Hanoi greater autonomy and responsibility in formulating investment incentive policies and mechanisms, managing land, planning, and developing infrastructure.

This gives the city more flexibility in formulating competitive policies that are appropriate to practical requirements. In particular, the City People's Council Resolution on attracting strategic investors (approved on July 9, 2025) has created a solid foundation for orienting and prioritizing the sectors that the Capital wants to focus on attracting, ensuring that resources are used effectively and strategically.

The amended Capital City Law also aims for sustainable and modern development, focusing on attracting selective investment, prioritizing high-tech industries, green technologies, and high-quality services, contributing to building Hanoi into a smart, green, and modern city.

The new regulations enable Hanoi to implement more attractive incentive policies, shorten licensing times, create a more open and transparent investment environment, and thereby enhance its competitiveness compared to other localities.

Finally, the Law also creates mechanisms to encourage the attraction of high-quality human resources and the transfer of advanced technology, especially in priority areas, helping to improve the quality of FDI and promote sustainable development.

The impetus from the merger and the organization of a two-tiered local government system.

Hanoi has a distinctly different FDI attraction structure compared to many other localities nationwide. The city has a clear advantage in real estate and services, with real estate accounting for 36.54% and goods trading and commercial services accounting for 12.43% of the total accumulated capital. This reflects Hanoi's role as a major urban center.

In particular, the development of scientific and R&D activities accounts for 12.4% of the total capital, demonstrating Hanoi's strong potential in developing research and intellectual consulting activities. Although the manufacturing industry still accounts for a significant proportion, Hanoi is clearly shifting towards a high-tech orientation such as chips, semiconductors, AI, and IoT, differentiating itself from the labor-intensive processing industries in other provinces.

Following the restructuring of the local government into a two-tier system, Hanoi will have strong impetus to boost growth and attract investment. Optimizing resources through the merger of administrative units and streamlining the government apparatus will reduce overlaps, improve management and operational efficiency; expanding development space will create more attractive clean land for investors, especially in suburban areas.

Improving governance capacity with a more streamlined operational mechanism will help shorten processing times and enhance the quality of service for businesses. A more comprehensive and synchronized infrastructure will facilitate the movement of goods and personnel, and boost production and business activities.

Ultimately, a larger urban scale and a modern living and working environment will attract more high-quality human resources, meeting the needs of high-tech projects and modern services. With its existing advantages, along with new mechanisms and policies and a clear development orientation, Hanoi is on track to break through, continuing to affirm its position as one of Vietnam's leading economic and investment centers.

Can Hanoi sustain this impressive growth momentum and realize its goal of becoming a regional high-tech and innovation hub in the coming years? This is the big question that both the government and the investment community are working together to answer.

Hanoi's impressive FDI attraction results are proof of the government's "eager but not hasty" approach to development; demonstrate investors' "sustainable and genuine" confidence; and affirm the "support for the benefit" of the capital's people, working together to build an increasingly prosperous and civilized Hanoi.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/ha-noi-dan-dau-thu-hut-fdi-nua-dau-nam-2025-tiem-nang-but-pha-trong-tuong-lai-710719.html