Bac Ninh - Preferred Investment Destination

10:48:10 PM | 21/9/2015

On August 6, 2015, the Bac Ninh Provincial People's Committee granted a certificate for US$3 billion investment expansion to Samsung Display Vietnam Ltd. This project is not only an important milestone in Bac Ninh’s FDI attraction, but is also very significant to its current socioeconomic development. The fruit is attributed to the province’s constant efforts to better the business environment and create investment motivation. Vietnam Business Forum has an interview with Mr Nguyen Tu Quynh, Chairman of Bac Ninh Provincial People’s Committee, on this issue. Ngo Khuyen reports.
The certification of investment expansion to Samsung Display Vietnam is considered a milestone in FDI attraction of Bac Ninh province. What is your opinion about this project?
When Samsung Group recommended investing in a mobile phone and telecom equipment production project in Vietnam in 2007, the Government and the Ministry of Planning and Investment immediately had close direction to respond to this intention. The ministry decided to establish the working group to support investment projects of Samsung Electronics Vietnam Co., Ltd (SEV). After its location survey, Samsung Group chose Yen Phong Industrial Park, Bac Ninh province to locate its investment project with a total registered investment capital of US$2.5 billion, divided into three phases of investment.
 
Bac Ninh province launched a series of actions to support Samsung to get the investment certificate and deploy the project; provide synchronous technical infrastructure system, including a power supply system, water supply system with a daily capacity of 13,900 cubic metres and a wastewater treatment system with a first-phase daily capacity of 2,000 cubic metres, among other things. The group was also facilitated to lease 5.2 ha of land to build houses for workers. SEV quickly put the project into production and fetched US$12.5 billion of export value in 2012, US$23.8 billion in 2013 and US$19.5 billion in 2014. Currently, the project employs nearly 50,000 workers.
 
With the success of the project of Samsung Electronics, Samsung Group invested US$1 billion in a display production facility, operated by Samsung Display, in Yen Phong Industrial Park. The project went into operation less than one year from the date of investment licensing, in March 2015.
 
Recently, the province granted a certificate for US$3 billion investment expansion to Samsung Display, bringing the total investment capital of this project to US$4 billion. The project is expected to generate US$1.5 billion of revenue in 2018, US$40 billion in 2018 and US$60 billion in 2020. The facility will create over 20,000 jobs.
 
Speaking at the investment certificate award ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam affirmed that Samsung Display Vietnam’s choice of Bac Ninh as its investment location is the right decision because the province has a good, convenient investment environment with many preferential policies and high-quality human resources.
 
 
In the past years, Bac Ninh has always been a leader in FDI attraction, and Samsung Display Vietnam’s investment expansion is clear evidence of that. How has Bac Ninh endeavoured to have that success?
In recent years, Bac Ninh is a preferred investment destination of big corporations such as Samsung, Canon, Microsoft and ABB. The province had 756 FDI projects with a total registered capital of US$11.3 billion as of August 2015. Samsung Display’s project had US$4 billion, accounting for 35 percent of total registered FDI capital in the province. Most investors have achieved success with Bac Ninh and Samsung is a typical example.
 
The province has achieved this good result because it always defines FDI attraction as an important task in socioeconomic development strategy. Hence, it has constantly improved investment environment, centralised planning, construction and development of industrial zones; and supported the business community in the spirit of "Business develops - Bac Ninh province develops too.”
 
Bac Ninh has also focused on building and perfecting industrial zone development policies, investment policies, investment incentives for companies in industrial zones and localities with industrial zones. Particularly, the province has built synchronous infrastructure systems for industrial zones, and integrated industrial infrastructure with social infrastructure, such as urban and service areas to provide housing, medical, healthcare, entertainment, catering, transport and security services and environmental remediation.
 
The province has also carried out many positive measures in administrative reform, policy dialogue and business support to encourage and stimulate all economic sectors to invest in production and business development.
 
The determination and efforts of all tiers of government and agencies in the province to improve the investment and business climate are clearly expressed in the rankings of provincial competitiveness index (PCI). In 2014, Bac Ninh ranked 10th nationwide, belonging to a group of good provinces, climbing 2 places over 2013.
 
To further improve the investment and business environment, Bac Ninh province has carried out many solutions and launched an action plan to implement the Government’s Resolution 19/NQ-CP dated March 12, 2015 on major solutions on continued improvement of the business environment and national competitiveness in 2015-2016. Would you talk about highlighted points in the action plan?
Executing the Government’s Resolution 19/NQ-CP dated March 12, 2015 on major solutions on continued improvement of the business environment and national competitiveness in 2015-2016, the Bac Ninh Provincial People’s Committee issued the Action Programme with the objectives as follows: Further improving business environment; building friendly investment and business environment, correcting working manners, improving public service, and maintaining the PCI Index in the Top 10 group; accelerating administrative procedure reform to shorten processing and execution time of administrative procedures, especially in business registration, investment registration certification, construction permit, taxation, social insurance, access to land and public investment; deploying single-window mechanism and applying the set of administrative procedures in accordance with newly issued laws like the Law on Enterprises, the Law on Investment, the Law on Construction, the Law on Land, and the Law on Environmental Protection.
 
The province will also speed up information technology application to all sectors to improve governance, public service and national competitiveness; accelerate administrative procedure reform to shorten processing and execution time of administrative procedures to reduce administrative costs, ensure transparency and publicity and raise the accountability of leaders of State administrative agencies. The time for handling administrative procedures will be at least 30 percent shorter than State regulations.