Many projects with significant influence
Before deciding to invest in Thai Nguyen, Samsung sent a working group to understand the local investment environment. After carrying out many field trips and fact-finding tours, the company found out four major advantages to invest in Thai Nguyen.
Firstly, the provincial leaders are very enthusiastic and determined to attract investment by pledging to provide enough space for the construction of factories and shorten the time to complete administrative procedures. Second, the province has modern road transport infrastructure, which is well connected with other types of transport. Third, with seven universities and dozens of vocational colleges, the province has abundant and high-quality human resources. Fourth, the people in the province show their consensus, creating favourable conditions for investors.
Resultantly, Samsung decided to invest nearly US$7billion in Thai Nguyen for the construction of a mobile phone manufacturing complex, which includes dozens of factories producing components.
Every year, Samsung’s Thai Nguyen factory has gained export revenue of roughly US$24 billion, creating jobs for more than 70 thousand workers in the province and neighbouring provinces.
Similarly, Masan Group’s investment of more than VND 10 trillion into Thai Nguyen in mining and processing tungsten in Nui Phao mine, is another project which has contributed to boosting the provincial economic sector. By exploiting and processing tungsten at Nui Phao mine, Dai Tu district, Masan Group has become the one primary supplier of tungsten chemicals ex-China, with 36% of the non-China market.
Its annual revenue reaches VND5 trillion, generating jobs for more than 2,000 workers, its amount of annual budget contribution is around VND1 trillion. The company has also spent over US$ 1 million on Thai Nguyen province’s social welfares programmes.
Due to its budget, Thai Nguyen provincial authorities has mobilised investors to lease land for 50 years in one payment in order to mobilise a financial source for the construction of industrial parks. As a result, more than VND1.5 trillion has been mobilised to build Diem Thuy Industrial Park, which is equipped with a modern and synchronous internal traffic network, power and water systems, and a wastewater treatment system.
As all of the Diem Thuy Industrial Park’s investors are enterprises with good financial and management capacity, they have covered the park with 77 projects, which are environmentally-friendly and modern factories and facilities with a total investment of US$1.129 billion. These projects gained more than US$1 billion in total revenue, contributed over VND500 billion to the budget, and offered up to 20,000 jobs for locals.
According to Nguyen Van Thoi, Chairman of Thai Nguyen province’s Business Association, the locality’s business and investment environment has seen remarkable progress over the past three years.
A one-stop-shop mechanism has been implemented, shortening the time for business establishment to under 2 days, granting investment decisions in 25 days an granting a certificate of land use right for the first time to less than 24 days, much lower than they are regulated by law. Tax declaration, payment and refund were also going online, helping businesses to reduce a lot of time for taxation and customs services.
Economic sector sees strong growth
2018 was the third consecutive year that Thai Nguyen province recorded a high economic growth rate with industrial production value reaching VND 670 trillion, up 13.4% as compared to 2017, ranking fourth among the 63 provinces and cities. Also last year, the province earned more than US$25 billion in export turnover, ranking 4th out of 63 provinces and cities nationwide. Meanwhile per capita average income stood at VDD77.7 million, an increase of nearly VND10 million against 2017. Over the past three years, the province has attained an annual growth rate of 13.15%.
So far, the province has reached and surpassed 18 out of 19 targets set by the 19th provincial Party Congress for the 2015 – 2020 period. The provincial budget collection has increased rapidly, gaining more than VND 15 trillion in 2018, double the figure of 2015. The province’s economy structure has changed rapidly in the direction of a higher proportion of industry, construction and services and a smaller proportion of agriculture, forestry and fishery.
As of June 2016, the province had attracted 869 projects, including 740 domestic investment projects having total capital of more than VND 146 trillion and 129 FDI projects with total investment of over US$7.2 billion.
Particularly, since the investment promotion conference in July 2018, the province has attracted 63 projects from 44 investors with a total registered capital of over VND 114 trillion.
Tran Quoc To, Secretary of Thai Nguyen Provincial Party Committee said that soon after the investment promotion conference was held in 2018, a Steering Committee was established to accelerate the projects’ progress and timely remove difficulties for investors during the implementation of their projects.
It is believed that the projects, many of which have a large source of investment, will make practical contributions to facilitating Thai Nguyen’s socio-economic development when they are put into operation.
In addition, the provincial authorities have paid great attention to ensuring social welfares and the livelihood of people through specific programmes on increasing the economic situation of H’mong ethnic community, providing electricity, and developing boarding and semi-boarding schools for children in remote areas.
An action week for the poor is observed every year to bring a warm Tet (New Year) Festival to the poor, with nearly VND 40 billion having been raised in 2018 and 2019 to support poor households under the spirit of "No one is left behind".
