Thai Binh seeks Singaporean investment

Tien Hai Industrial Zone in the northern province of Thai Binh.-Photo viglaceraip.com

The projects cover infrastructure and industrial production, transport – especially seaports and transportation networks in economic parks – restaurants, hotels, luxury resorts, urban infrastructure and high-tech farming.

In his speech at the forum, Chairman of the provincial the People’s Committee Dang Trong Thang said his province pays special attention to attracting strategic investors including those from Singapore and will create the best possible conditions for them to operate.

The locality has set aside around 8,000ha for the development of industrial zones, the chairman said. He encouraged Singaporean firms with sufficient financial capacity and business experience to invest in these areas.

He added Thai Binh will continue to foster administrative reform with a focus on simplifying procedures and slashing the amount of time needed to complete necessary investment documents in an effort to improve the investment climate.

Investors at the conference showed their interest in areas such as petrol-chemistry and high-tech agriculture, and raised feasible proposals.

Ahmad Magad, General Secretary of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF), praised the province’s substantial potential to attract investors, saying that many Singaporean businesses have considered investing in the locality which is offering tax incentives at local industrial parks.

Within the framework of the conference, Thai Binh and the SMF signed a memorandum of understanding to promote co-operation opportunities in the future.

The SMF gathers 3,000 businesses that make up 20 per cent of Singapore’s gross domestic product (GDP) and is an important partner of Vietnamese firms.

According to Thai Binh's portal, the province strives to have 12 industrial zones (IZs) covering a total area of more than 2,500ha by 2020. Seven have been approved for construction while six are already operational.

As of May 25, the province's IZs had attracted 189 projects, including 142 foreign-invested ones, with combined investment capital of more than VND31 trillion (US$1.33 billion).

The province is also home to 45 operational industrial clusters which had lured 380 projects as of May 27.