Attending at Binh Duong bridge point were Mr. Mai Hung Dung - Member of Provincial Standing Party Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of Provincial People's Committee; Mr. Alain Cany – Chairman of European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (Eurocham Vietnam); Mr. Pham Ngoc Thuan – General Director of Becamex IDC; leaders' representatives of provincial departments, committees, branches and European investors in Binh Duong.
At the European bridge point, more than 100 European enterprises attended.
Attractive destination for investors
Speaking at the opening of the conference, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Mai Hung Dung said that in 2021, despite facing many difficulties and challenges due to the Covid-19 situation, the index of industrial production (IIP) of Binh Duong province in 2021 is estimated to increase by 4.5% compared to 2020. Export turnover is estimated at 31.5 billion USD (up 13.5%). Import turnover is estimated at 24.6 billion USD (up 14.7%). Trade surplus in 2021 reaches 6.8 billion USD. Binh Duong is the 2nd locality in the country in terms of attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) after Ho Chi Minh City. As of November 15, 2021, the province has 4,011 FDI projects from 65 countries and territories, with a total registered capital of 37 billion USD.
Delegates attend at Binh Duong bridge point
Assessing the investment environment of Vietnam in general and Binh Duong province in particular, Mr. Alain Cany – Chairman of Eurocham Vietnam said, Binh Duong remains an attractive destination for European investors, especially since Vietnam joins Free Trade Agreements. This is a very good opportunity for enterprises to invest in Vietnam in the near future. According to Mr. Alain Cany, enterprises should seize this opportunity to restore production to the new normal. On behalf of more than 100 European enterprises investing in Vietnam, he hoped that Vietnam in general and Binh Duong province in particular would continue to have attractive investment attraction policies to welcome the investment shift to Vietnam. And Mr. Thomas McClelland, Chairman of Taxation and Transfer Pricing Sector Committee of Eurocham said that Vietnam has issued many important policies to attract investment in line with the trend of industrial revolution 4.0, in which policies in the fields of information technology, high-tech application, supporting industries, etc. The Vietnamese government also has a digital transformation strategy, international trade commitments to create the best conditions for investors, etc.
Mr. Alain Cany – Chairman of Eurocham Vietnam speaks at the conference
Updating on the future of human resource transformation in Vietnam in the context of the new normal, Ms. Vo Thi Kim Thoa - Head of Department in charge of human resource consulting services, Deloitte Vietnam Company, said that after the Covid-19 pandemic, the labor market in Vietnam is being restarted. Vietnam has a young population, abundant and well-trained human resources, which are advantages for enterprises to choose Vietnam as an investment destination. With the policies issued by Binh Duong for workers, Ms. Thoa believed that the labor market of Binh Duong province will soon be vibrant again to meet the needs of enterprises.
Overview of the conference
Creating a sustainable ecosystem to attract high-tech projects
According to delegates, over the past time, Binh Duong has been very successful in promoting bilateral cooperation. In which, Binh Duong has developed multilateral cooperation and is now an official member and reliable partner of 03 international organizations, including: The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), the Asian Economic Cooperation Forum – Horasis and World Trade Center Association (WTCA). With the right development orientation and with its own efforts, Binh Duong province has achieved some very encouraging results and is the first locality of Vietnam to officially become a member of the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF). For 3 consecutive years, 2019, 2020 and 2021, Binh Duong has been honored by ICF as one of 21 cities and regions with typical smart city development strategies of the world (SMART 21). And especially in July 2021, Binh Duong province was honored in TOP7 by ICF, becoming one of 07 communities with typical smart development strategies in the world.
Dr. Nguyen Viet Long (2nd from left) - Director of Department of Science and Technology and delegates discuss the topic of high-tech industry attraction
In the coming time, Binh Duong will continue to build a sustainable development ecosystem to attract investment projects in the field of science and technology. Sharing about this issue, Dr. Nguyen Viet Long - Director of the Department of Science and Technology said that, to attract investment in high-tech industry, innovation, application of science and technology (ST) and quality human resources are the top criteria. Over the past time, Binh Duong has implemented many innovation programs, transforming the growth model of high-tech production; focused on investing in provincial science and technology research projects and topics to support development strategies, support society, support enterprises in the province such as research topics on logistics planning, building wooden brands for Binh Duong, topics on improving corporate social responsibility, etc. to welcome Vietnam's bilateral cooperation opportunities. According to Mr. Long, the number of ST topics and projects in the province in 2021 has increased by 300% compared to 2020. In addition, the province also implemented many quality productivity support programs for enterprises such as ISO, digital transformation; encouraged enterprises to open ST Funds to invest in this field or encourage the establishment of ST enterprises to enjoy tax incentives, etc.
The province also promotes innovation programs, promotes start-ups, and plans the Binh Duong Innovation Region with the center of the ST Industrial Park. Thanks to the centralized planning, encouraging institutes, schools and enterprises to actively participate in ST innovation as an important prerequisite for breakthroughs in innovation, thereby attracting high-tech projects.
According to Mr. Vo Son Dien - Marketing Director of Becamex IDC, the ST Industrial Park project is being built in Bau Bang district, which is one of the key projects of the Binh Duong Smart City Project. This is an area to attract corporations and enterprises, especially startups in key manufacturing industries with high added value, suitable for the current period. It will also become a training center to attract high-tech human resources, research and technology transfer. In the ST Industrial Park, an urban area will be built with a good living environment for experts, engineers and scientists, with a dynamic and creative scientific community. Strategic clusters are planned in the ST Industrial Park, including: Innovation Cluster, Advanced Manufacturing Cluster, Experience Entertainment Cluster and Knowledge Urban Cluster. In which, the Innovation Cluster is the core nucleus that makes the difference of the ST Industrial Park, where scientists are encouraged to share unique ideas, test new products and inventions in real-world environments. The institute and school zone is the place where high-class education and training activities take place, nurturing talents, providing specialized and skilled human resources for research and production activities. The science and technology zone will gather research institutes with modern facilities, creating conditions for talents to create new solutions, products, and technologies in strategic fields. The vibrant start-up activity in the shared space will create a platform to promote technology development and commercialization.
Mr. Mai Hung Dung (4th in the top row from the right) – Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee speaks to conclude the conference
Concluding the conference, Mr. Mai Hung Dung - Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, on behalf of Binh Duong provincial leaders and people, cordially invited European investors, enterprises and entrepreneurs to come to Binh Duong to learn more investment opportunities in the context of the "new normal" when the Covid-19 pandemic has been controlled. The province is committed to always accompanying, supporting and creating the most favorable conditions for foreign investors, including European investors.
Reported by Mai Xuan - Translated by Nguyen Trang