Northern region has high-tech promise for foreign investors

During a work trip led by Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee Le Tien Chau to China last month to conduct investment promotion activities, Haiphong People’s Committee held working sessions at localities, universities, and businesses in China, including tech firms ZTE and TCL in Guangdong province.

Municipal Party Committee Le Tien Chau to China, photo haiphong.gov.vn

At the event, Haiphong granted licences to seven investors with combined funding of nearly $200 million, along with four MoUs on cooperation. This achievement contributes to clinching its position as one of the top localities in foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction, and simultaneously exerts its efforts in improving the business environment and diversifying promotion. The northern port city targets $2-2.5 billion in foreign investment for 2024 as a whole.

Elsewhere, Chinese battery manufacturer Sunwoda in July said it would pour an additional $300 million into the manufacturing facility in the Yen Lu Industrial Park (IP) in the northern province of Bac Giang. The project will employ 5,000 local workers and generate $1 billion in revenue per year.

Sunwoda will continue to make additional investments in the next stages based on its upcoming growth in Vietnam.

COO Xiang Haibiao said, “Sunwoda has nearly 30 years of operation in the computer, phone, and electric vehicle battery industries. In April 2023, Sunwoda established its first company in Van Trung IP in Bac Giang province in the north. After one year of operation, the company has decided to expand its investment thanks to the favourable climate.”

Sunwoda will build a smart park to minimise carbon emissions while applying optimised solutions to increase energy efficiency and the use of clean energy, contributing to environmental protection. The company will also utilise technology currently used in China for its production in Vietnam, Haibiao added.

In the last few months, other localities in the north such as Bac Ninh and Quang Ninh have granted registration certificates for a series of projects with added capital from firms such as Amkor and Foxconn, among others.

During Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to South Korea in early July, Bac Ninh Vice Chairman Vuong Quoc Tuan handed an approval certificate for an expanded project worth over $1 billion to JinAn Lee, corporate VP and head of Worldwide Manufacturing at Amkor.

According to the certificate, Amkor Technology Singapore Holding Pte. Ltd is to inject an additional $1.07 billion into its semiconductor plant at the Yen Phong II-C IP, bringing its total backing to $1.6 billion. After the expansion, the plant will churn out 3.6 billion products per year.

“This expansion reinforces Amkor’s commitment to regional growth and enhances our position in the global semiconductor supply chain. We look forward to contributing further to Vietnam’s technological advancement and economic development through this increased investment,” a company statement said.

The decision to increase the capital to $1.6 billion was originally due to come to fruition over the period of a decade.

In June, Bac Ninh also granted a registration certificate to Taiwanese electronic giant Foxconn, a major Apple supplier, for a $383 million project to manufacture printed circuit boards. The following month, the north-eastern province of Quang Ninh approved two projects run by Foxconn Singapore to deploy in the Song Khoai Amata IP and DEEP C Quang Ninh 2 Industrial Zone, both in Quang Yen town.

Many localities in the north were the biggest FDI recipients nationwide in the year. Statistics published by the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment showed that, in the first seven months of 2024, six of 10 localities receiving the largest FDI are in the north – Bac Ninh, Quang Ninh, Haiphong, Hanoi, Bac Giang, and Thai Nguyen.

These six localities received almost $8.9 billion in FDI capital, accounting for half of the total amount to the country.

Especially, Bac Ninh and Quang Ninh acquired $3.19 billion and $1.56 billion in FDI between January and July, signifying increases of 305 per cent and 223.9 per cent on-year.

Nguyen Thi Hong Chuyen, deputy general director of Capella Land – the investor of Yen Lu IP in Bac Giang – told VIR, “The north region has advantages in attracting FDI thanks to the convenient position to connect with airports and seaport in collaboration with the complete transport system. Another important factor is the presence of manufacturers such as Samsung, LG, Foxconn, Goertek, and Amkor, which are magnets to attract their satellite businesses.”

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