​​Foreign investment attraction increases over the same period

As reported by Binh Duong Department of Planning and Investment, in the first 5 months of 2021, the province's foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction still achieved positive results.

Specifically, from the beginning of 2021 to May 15, 2021, Binh Duong attracted 1 billion 252 million USD in FDI, equaling 159% over the same period in 2020. In which, 27 projects were granted new investment registration certificates, equaling 52% over the same period, the total registered capital reached nearly 289 million USD, equaling 109% over the same period in 2020; 13 turns of projects registered to increase investment capital, equaling 27% over the same period, the total registered capital increased to 776 million USD, equaling 335% over the same period; 51 turns of registration for capital contribution and share purchase by foreign investors, equaling 24% over the same period, the total value of contributed capital reached over 186 million USD, equaling 64% over the same period. Industrial parks in the province attracted 1 billion 163 million USD of foreign investment capital, equaling 198% over the same period, accounting for 92.9% of the total registered investment capital of the province. Outside the industrial parks attracted 88.7 million USD in foreign investment capital, accounting for 7.1% of the total registered investment capital.

The processing and manufacturing industry continued to be the field that attracted a lot of attention from foreign investors with a total investment capital of 964 million USD, accounting for 77% of the total registered investment capital. Real estate business ranked second with a total capital of 229.4 million USD, accounting for 18.3% of total registered investment capital. Next are the fields of wholesale and retail, transportation, construction.

The processing and manufacturing industry continues to be a field that attracts a lot of attention from foreign investors

There are 18 countries and territories having investment projects in Binh Duong. In which, Taiwan ranked first with a total investment capital of 640.8 million USD, accounting for 53.1% of total registered investment capital, Singapore ranked second with a total investment capital of 244.7 million USD, accounting for 20.3% of total investment capital, Samoa ranked third with total investment capital of 101 million USD, accounting for 8.4% of total registered investment capital. Next are China, Thailand, Hong Kong, British Virgin Islands (B.V.I), Korea, etc.

A number of projects that were granted new and adjusted Investment Registration Certificates with large registered investment capital are as follows: Project of manufacturing TV display and screen products of New Motion Industry Co., Ltd (Singapore), investment capital of 185 million USD in Phu Tan Industrial Park; ECPVN Binh Duong 2 Logistics Center Project of Emergent Vietnam Logistics Development Pte (Singapore), investment capital of 34.4 million USD in Tan Dong Hiep B Industrial Park; Synthetic yarn manufacturing project of Polytex Far Eastern (Vietnam) Co. Ltd., registered investment capital increased by 610 million USD, total investment capital after the increase is 1 billion 370 million USD in Bau Bang Industrial Park; Paper Factory Project of Cheng Loong Binh Duong Paper Co., Ltd., registered investment capital increased by 100 million USD, total investment capital after the increase is 1 billion 100 million USD in Protrade International Industrial Park; Razor Blade Manufacturing Factory Project of Procter & Gamble Indochina Co., Ltd., registered investment capital increased by 44.8 million USD, total investment capital after the increase is 247.8 million USD in Dong An Industrial Park.

Accumulating up to now, Binh Duong ranks third in the country in terms of attracting foreign investment capital (after Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi) with a total registered investment capital of 36.5 billion USD, accounting for about 36.5 billion USD, accounting for about 9% of the total investment capital of the whole country.

Innovative solutions

In the context of trade conflicts between major economies, and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, enterprises are tending to restructure production chains and supply chains in order to multilateralize and diversify their investments to avoid dependence on one country or one partner and seek safer and more efficient new investment locations. Seizing the above opportunity, in the first months of 2021, Binh Duong Provincial People's Committee coordinated with Consulate General of countries in Ho Chi Minh City, Becamex IDC Corporation to organize Webinars on investment promotion with countries such as Japan, Belgium, Italy, China, India, Thailand, etc. with the participation of many enterprises and large corporations in the country.

According to a representative of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, currently there are many Japanese investors who are very interested in Vietnam, especially the investment environment of Binh Duong province and consider Vietnam in general and Binh Duong province in particular as a safe destination, especially after drastic anti-pandemic efforts and results recognized by the whole world over the past time.

Investment promotion webinar is Binh Duong's innovative solution in the context of complicated pandemic developments

With the new way, consistent with the actual situation, the conference provided the latest information on the business investment environment of Binh Duong in the context that Vietnam basically controlled the Covid-19 pandemic and a series of new policies were promulgated such as the Investment Law, the Amended Enterprise Law, the PPP Law, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) towards creating a favorable, transparent and competitive legal framework in line with international practices. At the same time, providing information on the investment environment, tax policies on land, labor resources, energy, investment attraction regimes and policies of the province; areas that need to attract investment, etc. to welcome new foreign investment flows and create the most favorable conditions for investors to invest and do business successfully in Binh Duong.

At Investment promotion conferences, leaders of the Provincial People's Committee emphasized Binh Duong's growing position in the international community, especially when Binh Duong becomes a member of prestigious organizations in the world; is the only locality in Vietnam that has been voted by the  Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) three times in a row as one of the 21 cities and regions with typical smart city development strategies of the world and affirmed that Binh Duong is still the leading attractive investment destination of enterprises in the current context.

Mr. Sunan Angubolkul - Vice Chairman of Thai Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of Business Association of Thai-Vietnam said that due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, foreign enterprises in general, and Thai enterprises in particular, investing in Binh Duong face many difficulties. However, with the timely attention and support of the Government and the authorities of Binh Duong province, enterprises have quickly restored production, overcome difficulties, and stabilized production. "Over the past time, Binh Duong has always accompanied enterprises, especially foreign-invested enterprises. The province constantly implements administrative procedure reform; invests in building synchronous and modern infrastructure to serve investment enterprises in Binh Duong. I highly appreciate the creativity of the Binh Duong provincial government when organizing investment promotion teleconferences. I believe, with the trend of investment shifting in the coming time, Vietnam has a great advantage because Vietnam always focuses on the investment environment of enterprises. If the investment environment is changed, I think investors around the world will prioritize choosing Vietnam, including Binh Duong province to invest" - Mr. Sunan Angubolkul affirmed.

Part 2: Strategies to attract investment in the era of digital economy and industrial revolution 4.0

Reported by Mai Xuan - Translated by Nguyen Trang​