Growth frenzy set for Thai Nguyen

Thai Nguyen province is increasingly making use of its natural resources

The Thai Nguyen Department of Planning and Investment has just announced a new list of 27 foreign- and domestically-invested projects to be developed over the next year alone. They include the Khvatec Hanoi factory, Graphite Tanyuan Vina, and Samju Vina 2, among others.

In anticipation of the growing demand, local industrial zones, tourism, and real estate are gaining the most attention from investors, and Thai Nguyen expects to welcome more new projects in the years to come.

The investment picture in Thai Nguyen has brightened in recent times, mainly attributed to the great local efforts in improving the business climate as a whole. Last month Danko Group kicked off construction on the Danko City Thai Nguyen venture. The group and the Thai Nguyen People’s Committee signed a memorandum of understanding on the project at the 2018 Thai Nguyen Investment Promotion Conference. Since then, Danko has sought permission to develop two more infrastructure projects in the provincial town of Phu Yen.

On the heels of Danko, many other businesses have also proposed new projects. TMS Global JSC is planning to develop a golf course and resort complex in Song Cong city. In March, Truong An Development Investment JSC unveiled plans to build the Nui Coc Lake high-end eco-tourism complex. Two months later, Flamingo Group received approval to study the possibilities of developing two tourism projects. Danko is one of the 44 investors with 62 projects totalling VND115.67 trillion ($5.03 billion) announced at the 2018 investment promotion event. At present, of the 62 projects, 11 have attained investment registration certificates with total pledged capital of VND5.11 trillion ($222.17 million), while 11 others have had investment plans approved. The remaining 40 proposals holding an MoU with local authorities are completing their investment procedures to meet development schedules.

The strong interest in an ­increasingly-attractive Thai Nguyen is coming from Vietnamese groups as well as international investors. The province is home to many major domestic projects such as Volfram Nui Phao from Masan Group, the An Khanh thermo-power plant, and the Nui Coc Lake complex as well as a series of others working as Samsung vendors.

According to the province’s Statistics Department, between 2012 and 2017, Thai Nguyen’s attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) increased six-fold in amount of projects and nearly 70 times in registered capital between 1993 and 2012. The momentum continued in the first seven months of 2019 with the province seeing a 20 per cent climb in registered FDI, thus enabling it to fulfil 2019 targets. To add to its attraction, Thai Nguyen has made concrete commitments focusing on six important action plans, showcasing the provincial leadership’s determination in its investment attraction strategy. The commitments include establishment of hotlines to the province’s Party secretary and chairman of the People’s Committee; supporting and creating the most favourable conditions for businesses; ensuring social security; ensuring supply of a skilled workforce; ensuring water and electricity as well as support for site clearance; and applying the highest incentive ­policies allowed by the ­government.