FDI projects to charm Year of the Snake

Dang Xuan Truong , director of Thai Nguyen Provincial Industrial Zones Management Authority, said it was likely that a  Samsung project with the investment capital of $2 billion would be one of the largest and earliest foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in the Lunar New Year 2013 in the province.

“As soon as getting approved by the relevant government agencies, we will grant an investment certificate to the South Korean firm to start work within this March,” Truong said.

On February 6, Samsung signed a contract for leasing 100 hectares of land at the province’s Yen Binh Industrial Park to build a plant for manufacturing handsets and electronic parts.

At the beginning of the Lunar New Year 2013, Duong Ngoc Long, chairman of Thai Nguyen Provincial People Committee, made a field trip to check the progress of land clearance at the project site. It’s understandable for Thai Nguyen authorities to be eager because of successful $1.5 billion Samsung Electronics Vietnam complex in neighbouring Bac Ninh province. Last year, Samsung Electronics Vietnam reported an export value at $12.72 billion and employed 28,000 local workers.

In another example, South Korea’s  LG will make an investment of $300 million to build an electronic manufacturing plant on an area of 400,000 square metres in northern Haiphong port city ,according to information released on a South Korean website last week.

Currently, LG is operating plants  to manufacture televisions, refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners in Hanoi, Haiphong  and Hung Yen province.

Pham Thuyen, director of Haiphong Municipal Industrial Zones Management Authority, confirmed the report of LG’s planned investment but offered no other details.  

“We set the target of attracting $1-$1.5 billion of FDI  this year, and if nothing were changed, Haiphong would be one of the leading FDI hotspots in 2013,” Thuyen said.

Also, at the end of January 2013, Haiphong granted an investment certificate for IHL Infrastructure Asia to develop its manufacturing factory in the city’s Dinh Vu Industrial Zone. The investment for the first stage was only $47.7 million, but according to Thuyen, this Japanese investor had plans for the second stage with the investment capital up to $500 million.

The licenced plant will manufacture steel structural materials (6,000 tonnes per year), reinforced concrete (80,000 cubic metres per year), and facilities (90 items per year). IHL Infrastructure Asia planned to start the construction of the factory in February 2013, which will have trial operation in April 2014 and officially come into operation from January 2015. This is the ninth project of Japanese investors at Dinh Vu Industrial Zone.  

Meanwhile in the south, Dong Nai authorities recently  issued an investment certificate to Japanese Terumo’s  $100 million medical equipment manufacturing facility  in the province and they are appraising two other foreign invested projects with the total investment capital of $60 million.