In the trend of international economic integration, Bac Ninh always determines that foreign direct investment ( FDI) is an important factor .Therefore, the province always focuses on innovating leadership and administration to create a comparative advantage to increase the competition to attract FDI projects with large investments in the sector.
Spotlight on FDI attraction
The foreign direct investment of Bac Ninh province has marked milestones in different areas. The FDI inflows into the province have increased steadily over the years. Especially since the 2005 Law on Investment was released, the FDI reached US$1.3 billion in 2008 and peaked in October 2017 with US$3.14 billion. At the time of the re-establishment of the province in 1997, the province had only four FDI projects with a total registered capital of US$177.6 million. Till September, 2017, the province housed as many as 1,087 FDI projects with total investment capital of US$15.8 billion. Bac Ninh has become one of the leading provinces, ranked 6th nationally, in terms of attractiveness to foreign investors.
According to Mr Nguyen Dinh Xuan, Director of Department of Planning and Investment of Bac Ninh province, the investors come from 32 countries and territories and Korea has become the leading investor with 69 projects, with total registered capital after adjustment of US$9.15 billion; the second place is Singapore with 25 projects, with the registered capital after adjustment of US$2.95 billion and the third is Japan with 87 projects, with the registered capital after adjustment of over US$1billion. The investment projects in the province are highly valued by Canon (Japan), Samsung (Korea), Foxconn (Taiwan), Nokia (Finland) , PepsiCo (USA), ABB (Sweden),etc. It is noteworthy that across the country, the number of large investors remains very modest.
Among the typical FDI projects in Bac Ninh province, the Samsung Display Vietnam Co., Ltd. was licensed on July 1, 2014 by Korean investors with a total investment capital of US$6.5 billion. The project specialises in manufacturing, assembling, outsourcing, marketing or selling all kinds of monitors for electronic devices and carrying out research and development activities related to the production of various kinds of monitors. The SDV is also Samsung's largest investment project in Vietnam, making Samsung the largest foreign investor not only in Bac Ninh but also in Vietnam.
Secondly, the Samsung Electronics Vietnam Co., Ltd. (SEV) was granted the first investment license on March 25, 2008 by Samsung Electronics Asia Holding Ltd. (Singapore), with total registered capital of up to US$2.5 billion.
Channeling FDI inflows into hi-tech industries
In upcoming time, Bac Ninh will focus on attracting multinational corporations, enterprises focusing on electronics, telecommunication, mechatronics, pharmaco-chemistry to creating large value added on the single product. Mr Nguyen Dinh Xuan, Director of Bac Ninh Department of Planning and Investment said, "In order to maintain and promote the achievements, and ensure the province's development towards industrialisation and modernisation in the period of 2017-2020, with a vision to 2030, Bac Ninh Province will continue to attract investment for economic development, especially foreign direct investment projects, from strategic partners such as Korea, Japan, Singapore, etc. In particular, the province is interested in choosing the feasible investment projects whose investors have strong financial potential. The province also prioritises the development of hi-tech, electronics, telecommunication, mechatronics and pharmaco- chemical industries, supporting industries of key industries as well as high value added industries such as finance, banking, travel services, high-tech agriculture, clean technology in agricultural product processing, public buildings, workers' houses, social housing, and social security.
Increasing the quality and scale of investment capital of implemented projects is one of the solutions of the province. The province is striving for the technology content of the projects, accounting for 45-50 per cent, moving from heavy industrial development to high tech supporting industries, minimising environmental impacts and reducing crude export.
In order to achieve the target, the province has determined that there must be a good planning and good projects with good investors so the province has focused on completing the master plan for 2016-2020 since 2015. Along with that , the province focuses on preparing the list of projects to call for investment and making information accessible to the investors in the fields of electricity and electronics, travel and entertainment services, logistic system, commerce, and infrastructure. Besides, the province provides human resources for high-quality services with very specific commitments on ground clearance, technical infrastructure, labor, and administrative procedures.
With the active and positive direction of the government, the efforts of the sectors, especially the community of investors and businesses, the quality of FDI flow into Bac Ninh will be improved, creating the premise for socio-economic development of the province in the right direction to help Bac Ninh to become a centrally-run city by 2022.
Duy Binh
Vietnamese
