Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) - Ho Chi Minh City is emerging as an attractive destination for French investors, particularly in infrastructure, sustainable urban development and green transition.

French investment of more than 2.2 billion USD is contributing to economic growth and opening up broader prospects for long-term cooperation.

In 2025, bilateral trade between Ho Chi Minh City and France exceeded 723 million USD. France currently has 433 projects in the city. The French business community plays a key role in innovation, high-quality services and sustainable development.

At the “Build to Last” 2026 conference, Standing Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Loc Ha highlighted the city’s integrated and multi-sector development approach.

Priorities include resilient urban development and green transition, targeting 100% clean-energy public transport by 2030, and breakthroughs in transport and logistics infrastructure.

French Ambassador to Vietnam Olivier Brochet noted that since the two countries upgraded ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in October 2024, bilateral cooperation has deepened significantly, especially connections between Ho Chi Minh City and French partners.

French firms are active in healthcare, energy and urban solutions. Projects include a vaccine plant under a MoU signed between VNVC Vaccination Centre and France's Sanofi. Companies such as Bureau Veritas and Schneider Electric are also contributing technologies for climate resilience and smart energy systems.

City leaders reaffirmed their commitment to expanding cooperation with France in infrastructure, green finance, digital transformation and education, with a focus on metro systems, clean energy and smart urban development.

In the healthcare sector, the two sides are implementing a project to build a vaccine and biological products plant, under a memorandum of understanding between Vietnam's VNVC Vaccine Centre and France's Sanofi.

Assessing the investment environment, Ambassador Olivier Brochet noted that Ho Chi Minh City is a major destination for French businesses and a highly promising market.In the coming period, France will continue working with the business community to explore further cooperation opportunities, particularly in infrastructure, green finance, and carbon credit market development, as well as railway transport projects, especially metro systems.

Ambassador Olivier Brochet emphasised that the transition toward sustainable urban development requires participation from multiple stakeholders, including government agencies, businesses, investors, and international organisations.

France is currently supporting Vietnam through various programmes in green finance, climate adaptation, and energy infrastructure modernisation.In practice, many French companies have proactively proposed initiatives and technological solutions for sustainable urban development.

Notably, Bureau Veritas has introduced the Building Resilience Index (BRI), a tool that helps assess climate risks and recommend solutions to improve the resilience of infrastructure.In the energy sector, a representative of Schneider Electric noted that energy demand in Vietnam’s urban areas is becoming increasingly complex, requiring a transition to digital power grids capable of flexible, real-time operation.

The company reaffirmed its long-term commitment to supporting Vietnam in developing smart and sustainable energy infrastructure.

Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Van Duoc stressed that Ho Chi Minh City aims to further strengthen cooperation with France in infrastructure, finance, high technology, digital transformation, education, and culture.

The city is particularly focused on attracting investment in key projects such as urban railways (metro systems), an international financial centre, smart urban development, and clean energy, he said, adding it also prioritises cooperation in training high-quality human resources and enhancing climate change resilience.

Building on a foundation of the longstanding friendship and the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, along with complementary strengths and development needs, cooperation between Ho Chi Minh City and French partners as well as investment flows from France are expected to remain a key driver in transforming the city into a modern and livable metropolis./.