Vietnam’s Binh Duong province, part of the Southern Key Economic Region is fast emerging as a favorite for foreign investors.
The province, with its 30 industrial zones is second only to Ho Chi Minh City, in terms of FDI attraction.
With its renewed focus on high-tech industries, development of new industrial zones, and expected economic growth of 8-8.5 percent, the region will continue to be a priority for foreign investors.
In 2021, Binh Duong province observed a trade surplus of US$6.8 billion, with exports totaling US$31.5 billion and imports of US$24.6 billion. It contributed VND 61.2 trillion (US$2.6 billion) to the State budget, 4 percent higher than the yearly plan.
The 2022 GRDP per capita is expected to reach US$7,478, higher than VND 153.6 million (US$6,650) in the previous year. The province also targets the Industrial Production Index (IIP) to grow 8.9 percent and foreign trade to gain 17 percent this year.
Binh Duong plans to contribute VND 60 trillion (US$2.5 billion) to the State budget, attract about US$1.8 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI), and raise total social investment by 10 percent in 2022 while creating about 35,000 new jobs.
To this end, Binh Duong authorities intend to give priority to developing supporting industries in the manufacturing and processing sector, with the use of advanced and environmentally-friendly technologies, in order to allow more local enterprises to enter global value chains.
According to the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) 2021, Bing Duong ranks as the sixth most competitive province in the country, dropping two places compared to 2020. The rankings were led by Quang Ninh, Dong Thap, and Long An.
Binh Duong’s high ranking can be attributed to the effort of the province to cut administrative procedures, reducing the burden of complying with conditional business licensing procedures and solving difficulties for businesses.
Source: VCCI
Most noticeably, Binh Duong also tops the infrastructure index in the recent PCI 2021. The infrastructure index, another branch of the PCI assessment, evaluates four subindices, including (1) industrial zones/clusters, (2) roads and transportation, (3) basic utilities, (4) telecommunication, and (5) other infrastructure.
After 25 years of inviting investors and with a strong flow of foreign investment (FDI) capital into Binh Duong, it has had a positive impact on socio-economic development.
This article was first published by VietnamBriefing which is produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. The firm assists foreign investors throughout Asia from offices across the world, including in in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, India, and Russia. Readers may write to [email protected]
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