Industrial Zone Especially for Japanese Investors

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, in the first seven months of 2012, Vietnam attracted as many as 548 FDI projects with a total investment of US$8.03 billion. Among these, Japanese investors have 55 projects, accounting for 10.03 percent of the total number of projects, with a total capital of US$4.29 billion, accounting for 53.4 percent of the total capital invested in Vietnam, becoming the biggest investor in Vietnam. In proportion with to a massive wave of Japanese investment into Vietnam, the number of Japanese businesses seeking investment opportunities in Ben Tre has increased considerably.

Not only businesses coming from Japan recently but also a number of Japanese firms currently operating in supporting industries in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong and Dong Nai have come to industrial zones in Ben Tre to seek investment opportunities. Among these, Furukawa Company Limited Vietnam in Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone (Ho Chi Minh City) have made investment in building a car wiring factory in Giao Long Industrial Zone, Ben Tre province. After plant expansion, the company has raised total investment to VND 610.368 billion (equivalent to US$ 34 million) with registered capital of VND 215.424 billion (equivalent to US$ 12 million) and production capacity of 600,000 S /year in terms of conductivity.

Following Vietnam Furukawa Company, recently, on 16 October 2012, Nidec Corporation of Japan has also started construction of a new plant in an area of 4 ha in Giao Long Industrial Zone after developing quite a few projects in high-tech area in Ho Chi Minh City and Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone. The project has a total investment of US$ 39.6 million and specializes in manufacturing automobile transmission parts. According to the plan, the plant will be put into operation in September, 2013 and all products churned out fromhere will be exported.

Mr Huynh Van Nuoi, head of the Industrial Zone Management Board of Ben Tre said “Japanese investors often introduce to each other localities that have favourable investment environment and good incentives. With the presence of Vietnam Furukawa Co. and Nidec Group, I hope in the coming time, there will be more Japanese businesses that will choose Giao Long Industrial Zone in particular and Ben Tre in general as an investment destination."

 

According to Mr Nuoi, Ben Tre Province’s investment attraction strength lies in the abundant unexploited workforce. Investing in Ben Tre, businesses do not expect to encounter fierce labour competition like Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai and Binh Duong. In addition, the price of land lease to build factories in the industrial zone in Ben Tre is much lower than that in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau. Another advantage is the birth of the highway that has helped shorten travel time between Ho Chi Minh City and Ben Tre. In the context of the appearance of so many export processing zones and industrial zones in Ho Chi Minh City and localities in the southern key economic region, investment wave tends to shift to Mekong Delta provinces, and Ben Tre with its abundant advantages and potentials has become an ideal destination for investors.

Currently, Japanese businesses in Ben Tre make investment in not only advantaged areas of  the province such as agriculture, acquaculture, but also in new areas such as mechanical manufacturing, supporting industries. Mr Nguyen Van Hieu,  Chairman of Ben Tre People's Committee revealed that Resolution of the Provincial Party Congress IX clearly identified the goal in 2010-2015 period. Ben Tre will strive to shorten the development gap against other developed provinces, reaching fairly good level compared to the provinces in the region. Accordingly, in this stage, the province will give priority to businesses making investment in advantaged areas of the province namely agriculture, aquaculture and favourable types of projects such as projects in supporting industries, service projects for  agricultural development, technology and knowledge-intensive project, especially projects that help fully exploit the competitive advantage of the province and products that are able to participate in production networks and value chains nationwide and worldwide. In addition to those aforementioned, the projects that will be given priority in the coming time include the ones in the fields of transport infrastructure, water supply, hospitals and even industrial zones to serve as the basis for attracting more secondary investors. And Japanese investors will be the ones to which the province will first give priority in the coming time.