HANOI (Reuters) - The Vietnamese government has said it supports the idea of staging a Formula One race on the streets of the capital Hanoi.
Formula One chief executive officer Chase Carey said in June he was excited by the possibility of a race in the Southeast Asian country, adding that Formula One had been discussing the idea of staging a street race in Hanoi with Vietnamese authorities.
"All (government) ministries and agencies support the idea to create a new attraction for Hanoi," Mai Tien Dung, chief of the government office, said late Thursday in a statement.
Dung did not say when a final deal would be signed with Formula One, or when the first race would be held.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had told Hanoi not to use state budget for building infrastructure for the race, but to invite investment from businesses, Dung added.
"Hanoi authorities have asked people living in the planned area for their opinions about holding the race and they have all shown their support, to attract tourists," Dung said in the statement.
(Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by Peter Rutherford)