(VOVworld) – Attaching importance to improving the investment environment through new ways of thinking, new approaches, to investment promotion, and new preferential policies has increased FDI in Quang Ninh province. Local resources and the geographical advantages of this coastal province have also helped Quang Ninh lure more FDI capital.

A corner of Phu My thermo-electric plant in Vung Tau Province. The power sector is now expecting an infow of foreign direct investment (Photo: VNA/VNS Ngoc Ha)

Located in Vietnam’s northeast, Quang Ninh has favorable road and sea traffic infrastructure along with a deep seaport, a 250 km coastline, a 118 km border with neighboring China, and three international border crossings. These are things that help Quang Ninh attract foreign investment.

In recent years, the province has created breakthroughs in investment attraction through a series of open policies that include widely advertising local potentials, and strengths, creating lots of incentives, exempting investors from taxes, and streamlining administrative procedures. Tran Duc Lam, Director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment, says:

“An investment promotion and support agency has been established to ensure a One-door policy to deal with administrative procedures publicly, transparently, and quickly. The agency enlists the help of provincial departments and sectors to support investment and increase coordination among relevant agencies and investors. Additionally, we have refined the investment environment and have been active in land clearance and planning activities.”

Every year, Quang Ninh attracts about 50 investors, mostly from South Korea, Canada, China, Japan, the US, and the Middle East. To date, there are 93 foreign invested projects in Quang Ninh with a total registered capital of more than 4 billion USD. Last year alone, despite the global economic woes, Quang Ninh’s FDI totaled more than 410 million USD and by the end of the second quarter of this year, it had attracted nearly 77 million USD from 4 new projects.

FDI attraction in Quang Ninh focuses on advantages of maritime economy (Photo: quangninh.gov.vn)

To attract more FDI provincial authorities have conducted planning for industrial and economic zones. 3 economic zones and 11 industrial parks have been approved by the Prime Minister, according to Phung Danh Dai, head of the provincial management board of economic zones and industrial parks. Dai notes:

“We’ll continue to consult the provincial People’s Committee on how to develop economic and industrial zones. The most urgent task is to implement planning with a primary focus on planning border crossing economic zones, dividing into functional areas the Van Don economic zone, and making detailed plans for industrial parks.”

Under the province’s master plan on socio-economic development to 2020 with a vision to 2030, Quang Ninh plans to become a major international maritime  trade center. Thus many of the 32 projects the province has attracted this year and for the 2015 period are related to the maritime economy. The plan also calls for investment in infrastructure for transportation and industrial parks.