Northern provinces make efforts to lure Korean investors

Northern provinces in Việt Nam are making great efforts to promote their potential and call for investment from South Korea.

Hà Nam has become a popular destination in the northern region, stepping up its efforts to attract large investment from the Republic of Korea (RoK).

In order to strengthen connectivity, promote friendly cooperation activities, and attract investment between Hà Nam and Korean localities and businesses, last month the province coordinated with the Vietnamese Embassy in South Korea and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) to organise an investment promotion conference on boosting trade promotion. The event drew about 100 firms from the RoK.

Addressing the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Nguyễn Vũ Tùng highlighted the supplementary relations of the Vietnamese and Korean economies, and that the RoK’s strengths in manufacturing-processing match Việt Nam’s investment attraction, industrialisation and modernisation orientations.

Korean technology combined with the intrinsic advantages and openness of Việt Nam's economy increase the competitiveness of goods in the global value chain, he said.

Chairman of the People’s Committee of Hà Nam Province, Trương Quốc Huy introduced advantages of the locality as well as its smooth policy and clear commitments in administrative reform to support foreign investors in land use, labour, capital and investment procedures. He highly valued RoK investors for their high technology and efficiency.

At the event, Hà Nam also highlighted its potential, investment opportunities and investment attraction policies. Local leaders also responded to questions by Korean firms related to investment procedures.

Hà Nam is striving to become a centrally-run city in 2035 and one of the major high technology hubs in the Hồng (Red) River Delta region and the country.

So far, Hà Nam has attracted more than 350 foreign invested projects worth over US$5 billion, including 148 funded by RoK investors with combined capital of over $1.7 billion.

The RoK currently leads 13 countries and territories investing in Hà Nam in both project number and value. Outstanding Korean firms operating in the province include Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd, Anam Electronic Co.,Ltd, Kortek Co., Ltd, and Dream Plastic.

Vĩnh Phúc has also called for investment from RoK at a conference in Gyeong province of RoK in September.

Speaking before an audience of representatives from RoK businesses, chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Lê Duy Thanh said the visit was to boost cooperation between the two provinces, noting that Vĩnh Phúc wanted to seek investment and enhance trade promotion with Gyeong and other provinces as well.

Thanh informed participants that his province was now home to 100 Korean enterprises from Gyeonggi province with a registered capital of over $700 million, noting that this was an important advantage for both provinces to promote the establishment of friendly cooperative relations.

Thanh emphasised that with the advantages of geographical, natural, socio-economic, and preferential policies, Vĩnh Phúc has many opportunities to attract more Korean investors to invest in more projects in the province, especially in the fields of processing, manufacturing, high-tech application, and electronic components.

Thanh said since 2011, Vĩnh Phúc has been in the top 10 provinces and cities with a developed economy and high budget revenue of Việt Nam. Some 20 countries and territories have investment projects in the province. There are 442 foreign direct investment projects, with a total registered capital of over $7.3 billion. Of the projects, Korea is the largest with 229 projects, valued at a total of $2.6 billion. They are mainly operating in industrial parks, with the key products including electronic components, textiles, mechanical processing, automobile manufacturing, and auto spare parts.

The northeastern province of Quảng Ninh is no exception and also wants to call for investment from South Korea.

Quảng Ninh Province is an ideal location in term of politics and economy with different potentials. The province has both land and sea borders with China, including three border gates. Quảng Ninh is at the forefront of the “Two Corridors and One Economic Circle” plan or initiative to enhance regional economic cooperation between China and Việt Nam involving a number of regions in China and the Southwest, as well as North Việt Nam.

The provincial leaders have called on Korean investors and are willing to offer advantages for investors in industries in which the province has outstanding competitive advantages and distinct potentials, especially tourism and services, processing, manufacturing and support industries, high-tech, marine, logistics services and green economy such as renewable energy, wind power and digital economy.

In 2021, the province posted an export turnover of $2.5 billion. Of this figure, South Korea accounted for $19.8 million. In the first nine months 2022, Quảng Ninh’s export turnover is estimated to reach $4.1 billion. Of which, exports to South Korea bring the province a turnover of $7.2 million with some main export items including PE tarpaulin, clothing, limestone, and electronic equipment.

Regarding tourism, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Quảng Ninh received 14 million visitors, including 5.7 million international visitors with a total revenue of over VNĐ29.5 trillion. In the first nine months this year, the province received 9.17 million visitors.

Last year, the province attracted more than $1 billion from foreign direct investment projects. In the first nine months this year alone, there were 13 new projects granted investment registration certificates valued at $186 million. There are now 151 FDI projects operational in the province with a total registered capital of $10.3 billion.