In early January, the northern province of Bac Ninh granted 18 registration certificates totalling $1.8 billion, including $1.67 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI).

Among the major pieces of funding licensed is $1.2 billion by Samsung Display Vietnam. The licence followed an MoU signed between the company and Bac Ninh authorities in September 2024.

Other noteworthy projects combine the $125 million added-capital scheme by Cooler Master Vietnam and $89.5 million of adjusted capital from THK Manufacturing Vietnam Co., Ltd.

“Granting the investment certificates on the first days of the new year was the province’s commitment to aid businesses,” Nguyen Anh Tuan, Secretary of Bac Ninh Party Committee, said at the signing ceremony.

These projects were licensed just a short time after proposals were made. In addition to the Samsung example, Taiwan-headquartered Cooler Master, a computer hardware giant, decided to increase funding during the construction progress of the first phase.

“These moves show that investors see the opportunities, improvements, and trust in the business environment here,” Tuan said.

Meanwhile, on the first days of the Lunar New Year, Binh Duong People’s Committee granted approval to seven projects worth nearly $1 billion, including two new ventures, three added-capital ones, and two industrial park (IP) infrastructure initiatives: a Vietnam-Singapore IP undertaking worth $341.2 million, and an urban project worth $471 million. Thanks to these, South Korea led the pack in terms of registered capital with over $1.25 billion, accounting for more than 28.9 per cent of the country’s total and 13.4 times higher than the same period last year.

The biggest recipients of registered capital in Vietnam were Bac Ninh province with $1.39 billion (32.2 per cent), a six-fold rise on-year and simultaneously excessing the province’s goal for the whole year; Dong Nai province with nearly $959 million, a 3.4-fold increase.

The localities in the north such as Thai Nguyen and Haiphong also report the increase of the FDI capital influx to the country.

The statistical visualisation platform Seasia Stats has ranked Vietnam among the top 15 economies in Asia, with projected economic output reaching some $506 billion in 2025.

Seasia highlighted Vietnam’s rapid development, driven by explosive manufacturing growth and foreign investment.

“While China remains the continent’s largest economy, followed by Japan and India, Vietnam has distinguished itself as a rising economic force in Southeast Asia. The country, positioned 12th in the regional ranking, is projected to achieve 7 per cent economic growth in 2024, a remarkable rate that makes it among the fastest-growing economies in the region and the world,” Seasia noted in its report.

In particular, localities also make an effort to create breakthroughs for foreign investment attraction this year. Hai Duong is an example. The province strives to engage $1 billion or more in FDI. If the $1 billion mark is achieved, overseas funding attraction to the province in 2025 will increase by 39.3 per cent compared to 2024.

“To achieve the set goals, Hai Duong will draw in large-scale, high-tech projects, especially in the processing, manufacturing, electronics, semiconductor, AI, and hydrogen industries,” said Le Anh Dung, director of Hai Duong Department of Planning and Investment.

In the first quarter of 2025, the provincial IP management authorities will shorten the time for granting registration certificates to eight days, a reduction of seven days compared to regulations, except for cases that must be reported to competent authorities; the time for handling adjustments to certificates will be eight days, a reduction of two days compared to regulations, Dung added.

The province will reduce to 15 days for granting new construction permits and granting repair and renovation permits, and reduce to 17 days for appraisal of feasibility study reports, or adjustment of feasibility study reports.

IPs in the province prioritise manufacturing industries in the fields of semiconductor integrated circuit industry, design technology, manufacturing of components, integrated electronic circuits, flexible electronics, semiconductor materials, and high-tech product manufacturing projects.

“To show the determination to complete the foreign funding goal, the IP Management Board, for the first year, assigns targets to each IP infrastructure investors, which focus on Lai Cach, Gia Loc, and expansions to Dai An and Phuc Dien,” Dung said.

Foreign direct investment into Vietnam rose by 2 per cent on-year to $1.51 billion in January. Meanwhile, planned foreign funding jumped by 48.6 per cent from a year earlier, to $4.33 billion.

Foreign financiers injected capital into 16 out of 21 economic sectors, with processing and manufacturing leading the way, accounting for 71.3 per cent of total registered capital, equivalent to $3.09 billion. Real estate followed, attracting $1.09 billion, representing 23.5 per cent of the total.

In January, Vietnam received investments from 55 countries and territories. South Korea was the largest backer with $1.25 billion, closely followed by Singapore with $1.24 billion. Source: Ministry of Planning and Investment.
 

By Oanh Nguyen

Source: VIR

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