City Party secretary Nguyen Thien Nhan said 1,000 hectares of land would be earmarked for industrial purposes to attract investors.

The city expects this to help it achieve economic growth of 8.5 percent, he said.

The focus would be on investment which involve transfer of technology with technical infrastructure development, he added.

HCMC aims to become a smart city and establish the establishment of four centers: one for open data storage, one for simulating and forecasting socio-economic development, one for urban operations, and one for secure data storage. 

The city is striving to improve its modest transport infrastructure and would continue to dialogue with businesses and the public for constructive feedback, Nhan said.

It is a strategic gateway to the Southeast Asia market. "If you could reach 10 million people in HCMC, you could reach hundreds of millions of people waiting in other cities."

Businesses expressed interest in many projects at the conference. Property developer Alpha King wanted to invest in two elevated roads, while investment firm BRG expressed interest in creative urban planning.

Other areas of interest were technology operate electric buses.

Last year HCMC attracted FDI of over $7 billion, 22 percent of the country’s total.