VSIP Nghe An continues to be a magnet for foreign investors. Anthony Tan, general director of VSIP Nghe An Co., Ltd., shared his insight into the operation of the project.
How do you evaluate the investment environment in Nghe An? What advantages and disadvantages do you see?
Nghe An is one of the biggest provinces in Vietnam with a dynamic population of over 3.2 million people, 1.9 million of whom are ready to enter the labor market. This is a very large workforce, which is attractive to investors, especially for investors from labor-intensive industries. On top of this, in Nghe An we can find very good workforce. Nghe An has over 70 education institutions from universities, colleges, and vocational schools with 80,000 students graduating every year. We believe Nghe An’s people are very talented. Given good opportunities, Nghe An can be a very good destination for investors.
Most investors have not heard of Nghe An and the province has to work very hard to position itself as a viable destination for investors. Nghe An is working hard to improve its connectivity through roads, seaports, and airport.
Nghe An is working on administrative reforms. During your daily work with the authorities, can you feel any change or reform taking place?
The whole of Vietnam is going through administrative reforms. We have seen that the central government is doing a lot to improve these administrative reforms to make Vietnam more attractive for foreign investment. Nghe An will definitely benefit from all these administrative reforms. I think what is most important is Nghe An province leaders’ engagement with investors. The leaders engage the investors regularly, receive feedback, and take the feedback seriously to take immediate action. We at VSIP appreciate Nghe An authorities for the strong support they have provided us and our investors.
How long has VSIP Nghe An been operating? How does the project implementation progress and how are how much investment have you attracted so far?
VSIP Nghe An is our 7th investment in Vietnam, with the total land area of 750 hectares. The project was launched on September 16, 2015. Since then, we have completed the construction of some key developments such as a sewage treatment plant, ready-built factories, office buildings, and a fire-fighting station. This year, we continue our efforts to develop the park to meet tenants’ demands.
Today, we have 21 tenants with the total investment capital of over $260 million, generating more than 17,000 jobs for the local workforce upon full operation.
How does VSIP Nghe An plan to attract more investment? Do you have any target industry? What role does the local authority play in investment attraction activities?
I think Nghe An province is like any other province in Vietnam, working hard to attract more foreign investment. VSIP works very closely with the Nghe An People’s Committee and the Investment Promotion Center of Nghe An in many investment promotion activities overseas to bring foreign investment to Nghe An. VSIP welcome all industries as long as they are non-polluting. We believe in the long-term sustainable development of Nghe An province and the country in general.
Singapore’s Royal Pagoda Private Limited will invest VND4.65 trillion ($202.2 million) in a textile project in Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park in Nghe An province (VSIP Nghe An). This is the project with the largest capital among the investment projects at VSIP Nghe An.
The project was granted the investment registration certificate at a meeting of investors in Nghe An on February 23. At this meeting held by the Nghe An People’s Committee, provincial authorities scheduled to give decisions on investment approval or investment registration certificates for seven other projects, with the total investment of more than VND1.2 trillion ($52.2 million). They include an export leather footwear production factory at Van Dien Industrial Complex and a tempered glass manufacturing and processing factory at VSIP Nghe An.
In addition, also at the meeting, the provincial authorities signed investment agreements with 15 other investors with the total capital of VND11.8 trillion ($513. million). They include a project on developing a five-star hotel in Cua Lo town, a 15,000ha high-tech organic agricultural material zone and a VND3 trillion ($130.4 million) preservation warehouse in Ky Son border district.
The 11th investor meeting held by the provincial authorities of Nghe An on February 23 in Cua Lo town was an opportunity for the authorities to meet investors and to call on domestic and foreign investors and businesses to invest in the province.
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