Hai Phong attractive to investors

Hai Phong has become an ideal destination for investors. While foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth billions of US dollars each have been kicked off in Hai Phong, many domestic businesses have chosen the city for investment.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment’s data show that since early this year, Hai Phong has attracted more than US$2 billion in FDI, taking the lead among provinces and cities nationwide.

Notably, in 2016, Hai Phong attracted the US$1.5-billion project of the LG Display Co., Ltd. from the Republic of Korea (RoK). Based in the Trang Due Industrial Zone, the project was designed to manufacture plastic OLED displays for cell phones, smart watches and tablets. This is the second big project of LG Group in Hai Phong. It is expected that two more giant projects with capital of more than US$1 billion of LG Group will appear in the Dinh Vu - Cat Hai Economic Zone.

Hai Phong attracted many other FDI projects, including the US$34-million steel structure production project of the IHI Infrastructure Asia (Japan); the US$42.25-million project manufacturing parts of washing machines, refrigerators and motorized vehicles of the SL Electronics Co., Ltd. from the RoK, and the US$200-million Flat Vietnam project of the Flat Co., Ltd. (Hong Kong, China), among others.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment’s data show that Hai Phong has so far attracted more than 540 FDI projects totaling almost US$14 billion in registered capital.

Hai Phong also attracted many domestic investment projects with total capital of trillions of dong from Vingroup, Him Lam, Xuan Truong, Bitexco and others. These projects develop tourism, services and trade, and create conditions for Hai Phong to implement economic restructuring towards increasing the contribution of services and industry to the city’s gross domestic product (GDP). In May 5/2016, the Him Lam Corporation began construction of the Hon Dau Resort at a total cost of more than VND5 trillion.

Many investors have said that with total investment capital of billions of US dollars, Hai Phong Port, Cat Bi International Airport, Tan Vu - Lach Huyen Bridge, Ha Noi - Hai Phong Highway and Dinh Vu - Cat Hai Economic Zone together create a great combination that helps bring into play the potential market and 20-million-people workforce of the northern country. In May 2016, Hai Phong inaugurated the Cat Bi International Airport expansion project and began construction of Hai Phong International Container Terminal Project. These key projects contribute to making Hai Phong attractive to investors.

Apart from consistent infrastructure, Hai Phong Department of Planning and Investment Director Le Trung Kien said that in the coming time, Hai Phong will have more solutions to remove difficulties and obstacles for investors, enabling them to invest in the city in the long term.

Nguyen Hoa / ven