Vietnam is targeting annual economic growth of 7.5 percent to 8.5 percent over the 2011-2015 period, according to a development strategy drafted by the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

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Vietnam aims to reach 7.5%-8.5% growth in the next five years

The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, Vietnam’s main bourse, is planning to join a common board with five other exchanges in Southeast Asia to boost regional trading, an official said.

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HoSE plans links with regional bourses

Sunsea Resort is a boutique resort located on a charming, quiet, and relaxing golden sand beach of Mui Ne, 200 km east of Saigon.

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Sun Sea Resort

With huge potential development, Binh Dinh is proving its role in pushing economic development in the central region. According to the Binh Dinh People’s Committee, the province’s economic growth in 2009 reached 7.96 per cent.

Of which, the agriculture, forestry and fishery sector grew 7.3 per cent, the industrial and construction sector grew 7.43 per cent and the service sector grew 11 per cent.

“Binh Dinh kept high growth last year amidst the economic difficulties in the country. This implies that our province is emerging as an economic hub in the central region,” said Le Huu Loc, vice chairman of the Binh Dinh People’s Committee.

Binh Dinh is 300 kilometres south of Danang and 600km north of Ho Chi Minh City. The province is said to have huge potential to be a driving force for economic development in the overal central region. According to the annual Provincial Competitiveness Index conducted by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the United States Agency for International Development, which reflects the quality of provincial investments and their business climate, Binh Dinh was ranked 11th in 63 provinces nationwide in 2008 and it jumped to the 7th position in 2009.

Binh Dinh’s Quy Nhon seaport is one among the busiest ports in Vietnam. Last year, the port was reported to handle about 4 million tonnes of cargo, much higher than Danang port—the existing largest port in the central region. Due to its favourable geographic position, Binh Dinh is on the radar of many domestic and foreign investors.

“With its advantageous geographical position and bright economic oultlook, Binh Dinh is a good place to make investments,” said Nguyen Thanh, director of the An Phu Thinh Joint Stock Company. Thanh’s company is now developing a large commercial centre in Binh Dinh. Furthermore, his company plans to build a multi-million dollar residential and tourism project in the province.

According to the Binh Dinh Planning and Investment Department, the province has so far received 33 foreign invested projects with total registered capital of about $420 million. The projects’ investors are from the United States, Japan, China, Korea, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia, Germany, Thailand and Australia.

The Hong Kong-based Hong Yeung Company is also developing a $30 million industrial park in Binh Dinh’s Nhon Hoi Economic Zone. So far—although the park is still under construction—four foreign investors have registered to build their factories inside the park, with total investment capital of about $100 million.

Wood processing is an attractive industry in Binh Dinh. The province has 400,000 hectares of forests that can provide materials for wood processing plants. So far, more than 110 enterprises have invested into this industry in Binh Dinh and they can export about 22,000 containers of wood furniture on average each year.

Binh Dinh government announced that it would continue encouraging investors to invest in wood processing industry over the next few years. Loc said that the province was also expanding public investments in infrastructure projects to improve its investment climate.

“Although we have been actively improving the infrastructure network and business climate in Binh Dinh, the quality of licenced projects are still below our expectations and the development of some investment projects remain at slow pace,” Loc said. According to the Binh Dinh Planning and Investment Department, some domestic and foreign investors were delaying construction of their projects due to the impacts of the economic slowdown.

Binh Dinh authorities recently revoked investment certificates of the Gemadept Corporation, which had registered to build Nhon Hoi seaport. “In the future we will be very careful in selecting investors for developing projects in Binh Dinh,” Loc said.

Vietnam’s central province of Khanh Hoa-based Van Phong economic zone (EZ) has to date licensed 84 projects totaling US$15.3 billion.

The province, which is a center of tourism and shipbuilding in Vietnam, now home to five shipyards including Hyundai-Vinashin, Nha Trang, Cam Ranh, Nam Cam Ranh IP and South Korea’s STX

Tan Tao Investment & Industry Corporation (ITACO) will start construction in May 2010, ITACO’s representative in Quang Ngai Mr Nguyen Van Tam said recently.

With an investment of VND 285 billion (over US$ 16 million), ITACO is to develop Pho Phong Industrial Zone (IZ), a 157-hectare-IZ, a key-large-scale complex in the Sourthen Quang Ngai province.

As licensed, ITACO is to build up the technical and social infrastructure for the effective exploitation of the project and to carry out investment, development, construction and business activities for the Residential Area and social amenities composed of houses, apartments, offices, restaurants, hotels, commercial centers…etc.

Additionally, upon completion, the Industrial-Residential and Service Complex will vehemently promote urbanization, industrialization, and tourism and service development in Duc Pho district as well as in the southern part of Quang Ngai province.

The project is to be implemented within 38 months.

The Hai Phong Peoples Committee made public Prime Ministerial Decision 1448/QD-TTg dated September 16, 2009, on November 11, regarding changes to the city plan until 2025, with a vision to 2050.

Hai Phong will become a first-class national-standard city, a port city, a traffic center in the Northern Key Economic Zone and an important destination on the Vietnam-China Two Corridors-One Economic Cooperation Belt. Hai Phong will also be a general economic, scientific and technical center in the northern coastal region.

Apart from the seven districts that exist in the city, Hai Phong will create five new districts (Ben Rung, Bac Song Cam, An Duong and Trang Cat-Cat Hai) plus suburban districts, Cat Ba Island and the Dinh Vu-Cat Hai Economic Zone.

The decision was made in response to the population, development directions, architecture, infrastructure and more in the city in the future.

The Binh Duong Province Department of Planning and Investment said that 24 industrial zones (IZs) in Binh Duong have leased 2,579 ha to businesses. Of these, 10 IZs – Song Than I, Song Than II, Dong An, Binh Duong, Viet Huong 1, Tan Dong Hiep A, Vietnam-Singapore I, My Phuoc I, My Phuoc II and Binh An – have leased more than 90 percent of ground. In so doing, they have contributed importantly to the provincial economic development in the direction of rapidly increasing production.

So far, 28 IZs have been planned on 8,950 ha of Binh Duong. Of these, six stand on 713.6 ha of Di An district, three on 654.6 ha of Thuan An district, nine on 4,113 ha of Ben Cat district, three on 1,751 ha of Tan Uyen district and seven on 1,717 ha of the Industrial-Service-Urban Complex.

The Kim Thanh trade and industrial zone in northern border Lao Cai province, the biggest one in the country’s northwest region, was put into operation on Oct. 24.

The zone’s operation will help not only promote the strong development of the Kunming-Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong economic corridor but also Vietnamese goods easily penetrate China’s market, especially the two countries’ goods showcase at the Vietnam-China international tourism and trade fair slated for November 2 in Lao Cai province.

The 156ha zone encompasses seven small zones, including a management zone, an exhibition-fair and complex trade zone, an entertainment area and a warehouse.

Deputy Director of the Border Economic Management Board and Director of the zone’s Management Centre Nguyen Duc Loi said that so far 32 work items of the zone were built at a total cost of almost 200 billion VND. The zone has to date had 14 domestic and foreign invested projects licensed worth almost 800 billion VND in total, he added.