Quang Ninh Leads FDI Attraction

4:27:10 PM | 10/5/2010

According to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam licensed 263 fresh FDI projects with a total registered capital of US$5.59 billion in the first four months of 2010, up 58.5 percent year on year. Quang Ninh province outperformed with US$2.147 billion of fresh and added FDI capital in the four-month period.

Sizeable power projects

AES-Vinacomin Mong Duong Electricity Co., Ltd registered to invest US$2.1 billion to build a 1,200-MW coal-fired power plant in Quang Ninh province. The electricity field drew US$2.15 billion, accounting for 36.3 percent of total investment capital in the period. This is a big project in comparison with other projects licensed in the country like a US$1 billion sponge iron mill invested by Kobelco Vietnam in Nghe An province, a US$902.5 million real estate project invested by the US-based Skybridge Dragon Sea in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, a US$340 million underground oil depot in Dung Quat Economic Zone, and a US$120 million real estate project invested by Daewon Binh Khanh Co., Ltd in Ho Chi Minh City.

The processing and manufacturing sector also attracted as many as 94 new FDI projects with a total investment capital of US$1.55 billion, accounting for 26.2 percent of total registered investment capital in the first four months of 2010. The most attractive real estate sector in 2009 came third with US$1.25 billion in the January-April period, accounting for 21.1 percent of total registered investment capital. Six fresh real estate projects were licensed with US$1.245 billion.

Magnetic address

Quang Ninh is the most north-eastern province of Vietnam and is endowed with famous landscapes like Ha Long Bay - two-times World Nature Heritage accredited by UNESCO - where there are 1,030 named islands and thousands of unnamed islands. The province is also well-known for much-attracted tourist sites like Yen Tu relic, Tran Dynasty relic in Dong Trieu and Bach Dang victory relic complex. The locality is also famous for its beautiful islands and beaches for tourism development. Quang Ninh province also has many mineral resources like coal, forest and maritime resources. Possibly, this is the reason why foreign investors are grasping the chance to invest and expand investment in the most appealing destination in Vietnam.

By location, in 2009, Quang Ninh province ranked second in attracting foreign capital only after Ba Ria Vung Tau province with US$6.73 billion and before Quang Nam province (US$4.1 billion), Binh Duong province (US$2.5 billion), Dong Nai province (US$2.36 billion) and Phu Yen province (US$1.7 billion).

In the first four months of 2010, Quang Ninh province topped the FDI attraction list with US$2.147 billion, followed by Nghe An province (US$1 billion), Ba Ria - Vung Tau province (US$902 million), Ho Chi Minh City (US$508 million) and Quang Ngai (US$340 million). This year, FDI disbursement improved slightly, with US$$3.6 billion in the four months, up 5.9 percent from the same period in 2009.

In the four months of 2010, investors from 31 countries and territories injected US$5.92 billion into Vietnam, equal to 74.3 percent of the same period in 2009 and up 2.76 times from March 2010. The Netherlands is the largest investor with US$2.15 billion, accounting for 36.3 percent of total investment capital, followed by Japan with US$1.09 billion, accounting for 18.4 percent, and the United States with US$1.02 billion, or 17.2 percent.

Kim Phuong