Robert SanturBano, general director of Uginox Vietnam Company, clearly remembers 2003 when his friend, who was working for the former Ministry of Industry (now the Ministry of Industry and Trade), advised him to invest in Hung Yen province.

Then he decided to come to the province’s Industrial Park Authority Board for further information about local investment climate. SanturBano was consulted on Vietnam’s laws on domestic investment promotion and foreign investment promotion, the provincial people’s committee’s investment incentive policies covering business registry, projects, labour and the province’s geographical location.

One year later, Uginox Vietnam Company was set up in Nhu Quynh town to manufacture automobile spare parts, inox tanks and medical instruments. “It is convenient to invest here because Hung Yen is geographically advantageous. It lies near Hanoi and Haiphong which makes us easy to do business. Furthermore, administrative procedures are not cumbersome here,” SanturBano said.

Hung Yen is surrounded by Bac Ninh to the north, Hai Duong to the east, Thai Binh and Ha Nam to the south and Hanoi to the west. Also, the province is situated in the northern key economic region and the economic triangle including Hanoi, Haiphong and Quang Ninh province. It has major national highways such as 5A, 38 and 39A and the Yen Lenh Bridge connecting the National Highway 1A with southern provinces. The province also where the Hanoi-Haiphong railway runs through, making it easy to transport goods.

“These constitute a strong point for the province to expand relations with other provinces and lure investment projects,” said SanturBano. “Besides, workers here are diligent, intelligent and creative,” said Lee Kyung Hee, director of LG Electronics Vietnam’s Hung Yen-based LG Electronics Company. A representative of Acecook Vietnam Joint Stock Company’s Hung Yen-based branch said: “Hung Yen offers a good investment environment and an open-hearted investment policy. Workers meet our requirements.”

According to the province’s Planning and Investment Department (PID), Hung Yen is home to 699 projects, including 538 local-invested projects and 161 foreign-invested projects with total registered capital of VND29,216 billion ($1.67 billion) and $1.2 billion respectively. Of the 161 foreign-invested projects, Japanese-backed projects account for 17 per cent in quantity but 46 per cent in total investment capital. The remaining investors come from South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, France, the US, Thailand, Australia, Luxemburg and Germany.

Investors mainly focus on manufacturing automobile and motorbike spare parts, textiles and garments, mechanics and electronics. “There are world-famous groups in the provinces such as Japan’s Honda, Sumimoto and Hoya, South Korea’s LG Electronics and Hyundai, the US’s Cargill, France’s Nexas and Luxembourg’s Arcelor,” said Vu Van Minh, head of the province’s Industrial Park Authority Board (IPAB).

More than 70 per cent of the attracted projects have come online, employing 70,000 workers, of whom 14,500 are working in the province’s three industrial parks including the 390 hectare Pho Noi A, the 25ha Pho Noi B Textiles and Garments and the 219ha Thang Long II. “There has been a rise in investment projects in the province. We are trying our best to meet investors’ requirements about production sites and remove investment hurdles,” Minh said.

PID head Doan Anh Quan said the province was calling for investment in the industry, construction and service sectors. Specifically, they refer to high-tech and environmental-friendly projects, new material and energy production projects; information technology, mechanical and biological projects; agro-forestry and aquatic projects and infrastructure construction, electronics and industrial park construction projects.

They also include international-standard hospitals, goods distribution centres and logistics projects. Availing itself of its ideal geographical location, the province has also developed satellite urban areas of Hanoi such as the 500ha Van Giang Commercial and Tourism Area, the 450ha Northern Urban Area of the National Highway 5, the 242ha Southern Urban Area of this highway and the 300ha Hung Yen City New Urban Area.

“These areas will provide services for the province’s concentrated industrial parks,” said IPAB vice head Pham Thai Son. In order to supply skilled workers for investors, the province is planning a 1,000ha Pho Hien University Area, 60 kilometres east of Hanoi. “The area will be a multi-functional complex including training, studying and high-tech development,” Son said.

“We commit to create all favourable conditions to all local and foreign investors. Procedures about business registry, stamp carving, tax code registry and opening bank account are being implemented openly and transparently in the shortest time,” Quan said.

Over the past years, Hung Yen’s economic growth rate has increased stably by 13 per cent per year, which is 1.5 times higher than Vietnam’s average. Last year, while the growth rate of the province’s industry and service sectors rose by 23.5 and 14.1 per cent respectively, that of the agro-forestry and aquatic sector grew by 12.33 per cent. The province’s export turnover increased to $443 million from $368 million in 2007.

Source: Vietnam Investment Review