Bac Ninh – a magnet for FDI attraction
The northern province of Bac Ninh has been considered as a magnet for foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction with the rising pull of investment in recent years.
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A corner of Yen Phong industrial zone where many FDI firms are located in Bac Ninh (Source:bacninh.dangconsan.vn)
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In 1997, Bac Ninh had only four FDI projects worth nearly US$178 million. Recently, FDI in the province has increased sharply, reaching a record of US$3.5 billion in 2017.
As of 2017, the province had nearly 1,140 valid FDI projects with a combined registered capital of over US$16 billion, ranking sixth out of the 63 localities in terms of investment.
Foreign firms have invested in 13 out of 21 sectors in Bac Ninh, mostly in processing and manufacturing with 902 projects worth US$15 billion, accounting for 93.5 percent of total investment in the province.
The Republic of Korea is by far the leading investor in the province with 725 projects valued at US$11.8 billion, accounting for 73.3% of total FDI – followed by Japan with 88 projects capitalised at nearly US$1.1 billion.
Over the past 20 years, FDI has made significant contributions to the socio-economic development of Bac Ninh, helping to increase its gross regional domestic product (GRDP) of the locality.
Bac Ninh’s GRDP in 2017 was nearly VND142 trillion (US$6.1 billion), 26 times higher than that in 1997. Additionally, the influx of FDI also helped the province to transform its economic structure, and promote the growth of its industrial production, while increasing its exports and budget collection and creating jobs for a large number of local labourers.
According to Director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment Nguyen Dinh Xuan, Bac Ninh ranks sixth out of 63 localities nationwide in terms of FDI attraction. This is an important foundation for the province to continue to rise in socio-economic growth, heading towards becoming a centrally-run city in 2022.
Currently, Bac Ninh is finalising a proposal to add its high-tech park into the nationwide master plan of high-tech parks.
Bac Ninh has always paid great attention to luring multi-sectoral and multi-national economic groups, he said, adding that the presence of these groups has helped to form specified industrial parks and clusters for the support industry. After several years of operation, some investors have decided to increase investment and expand production.
As such, Bac Ninh has earned the title of becoming a ‘magnet’, luring increasing numbers of big businesses investment projects, stated Xuan.
