Speaking at the “Hanoi 2018 – Investment and Development Cooperation” conference, he said, “Today I’m glad to announce the Hanoi City People’s Committee has proposed the city People’s Council at its sixth meeting in late July approve its proposal to cover all business establishment and service costs as from August 1.”

According to local media reports, the conference was aimed at finding ways to improve the local investment and business environment, develop supporting enterprises, and spur the private sector into a driving force of its economic restructuring.

More than 1,500 delegates, including leaders of the central Government, ministries, Party agencies and other localities; representatives of international organizations; and investors at home and abroad, took part in the annual conference.

Nguyen Duc Chung, chairman of the Hanoi City People’s Committee, said investors who wanted to set up businesses would just need to apply online and results would be delivered to their doors.

The city government will fully cover all business establishment costs, he noted.

The new policy will make it possible for the city to fulfill its target of having a total of 40,000 businesses by 2020, according to Mac Quoc Anh, vice president and general secretary of the Hanoi Association of Small and Medium Enterprises.

The current cost for business establishment procedures is around VND600,000 (US$26.3), Anh said, adding the new policy could encourage household businesses to convert into companies.

He added Hanoi has over 25,000 operational businesses, so the city should try to raise the figure to 30,000 this year.

At the conference, which was also attended by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the city presented in-principle approval and investment certificates to 71 projects worth VND397.3 trillion (US$17.4 billion) at the conference.

They included 11 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects capitalized at VND130.06 trillion equivalent and 60 domestically invested projects worth VND267.2 trillion.

Notably, Hanoi, other neighboring localities, the Authority of Hoa Lac High-Tech Park, and domestic and foreign investors clinched 24 memorandums of understanding on cooperation in the fields of smart city, higher education, high-tech agriculture, healthcare, tourism, and the environment. Total investments are expected to reach roughly VND70 trillion (US$3.06 billion).

As such, Hanoi has become the second largest FDI attraction destination of the country.

Chung said the city’s economy expanded 7.15% in 2016 and 7.31% in 2017, and that the first half of 2018 might see growth of 7.07%.

As of mid-June this year, Hanoi licensed more than 4,300 FDI projects worth US$33.38 billion.