The Hai Phong City People’s Committee held a forum on September 29 to connect local enterprises in supporting industries with FDI businesses, in order to increase the localization rate in products.

Head of the Hai Phong Economic Zone Management Board Le Trung Kien said the northern port city has been at the top in FDI attraction over recent times but links between local supporting enterprises and FDI businesses have remained limited, particularly in supplying production materials and auxiliary products and services and in technology transfer.

Strengthening connections between the two sides would help open up cooperative opportunities and create the conditions for boosting added value in both when joining supply chains, he said.

Analysts have said that if investors could save on costs in logistics and labor by cooperating with local businesses in producing and supplying materials and auxiliary products, thus helping cut prices and increase their competitiveness.

Economic zones and industrial parks in Hai Phong have attracted 494 FDI projects to date with total registered investment capital of $24.9 billion. Nearly $3 billion in FDI capital has been invested in the city this year.