A production line of Samsung Electronics Vietnam at Yen Phong industrial park (Photo: VNA)
The country granted investment licenses to over 230 FDI projects with a total registered capital of more than USD2.79 billion and allowed 165 projects to increase capital by nearly USD700 million, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
Along with FDI projects, industrial and economic parks also attracted nearly 350 domestic ones worth VND8.5 trillion (USD382.5 million), mainly in high-quality apparel products and support industries for mechanics and textiles.
Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai province attracted signifcant investments.
The ministry’s Department for Economic Zones Management anticipates industrial parks will lure about USD9 billion in FDI and VND50 trillion (USD2.25 billion) in domestic investment in industrial parks, raising the total amount of foreign and domestic investment to around USD109 billion and VND600 trillion (USD27 billion) by the end of 2016.
Economic zones are expected to draw about USD2 billion in FDI and VND35 trillion (USD1.57 billion) in domestic investment, increasing the total foreign and domestic investment in economic zones to USD44 billion and VND600 trillion by the year’s end.
FDI continues to pour into industrial and economic parks, accounting for nearly 70 percent of the country’s total foreign investment, the department said.
However, to achieve the goals, it is necessary to speed up the implementation of technical infrastructure projects and revise some regulations regarding corporate income tax, land lease prices, and businesses’ financial obligations.
Evaluating environmental impacts is equally important before granting investment licenses to businesses, the department said, proposing the building of a large-scale and internationally-competitive special economic zone.
As of April 2016, the country had 310 industrial parks, 217 of which came into operation, spanning over 58,000 hectares with nearly 70 percent of filled land sites. Sixteen economic zones were set up on an area of 814,792 hectares./.