Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Phan Ngoc Tho (left) examines FDI enterprise’s activities.
The Imprint
Whereas in previous years, people of working age in the province mostly chose to "go to the South" to look for jobs, in recent years, as the number of textiles or technology enterprises, etc., from other countries investing in Thua Thien Hue is quite high, they have "pulled back" local workers.
As a garment enterprise belonging to Scavi Group (France), after 12 years basing in Phong Dien Industrial Park with a system of three sewing factories, Scavi Hue has provided stable jobs for more than 6,000 workers. Many laborers, instead of going to the South to look for a job opportunity, or being unemployed, are now having jobs with stable salary of 4-5 million dong per month. Accompanying services also make a significant contribution to creating jobs and improving people's lives.
Mr. Tran Van My, Director of Scavi Hue Company, said that in 2019, Scavi's revenue was $150 million, with more than $100 million from Scavi Hue. Scavi Hue is building the fourth factory with an investment of about 85 billion VND with 40 sewing lines, creating jobs for about 1,000 more workers.
Up to now, the province has had 112 FDI projects, with a total registered investment capital of $3,831 million. In the 2016-2020 period, it is expected to create jobs for 10,000 workers, and by the end of 2020, this area will provide jobs for 27,000 workers. Meanwhile, in the period 2011-2015, this number is only 1,400 employees.
Not only creating jobs, but many FDI enterprises also contribute significantly to the local budget, including Carlsberg Vietnam Beer Company Limited, Hanesbrands Vietnam Company Limited, Scavi Hue Company, Baosteel Can Making Hue Vietnam Company Limited, Luks Cement Company Limited, Laguna Vietnam Co., Ltd., etc.
Only the beer production project of Carlsberg Vietnam Beer Company Limited last year contributed $72.6 million to the provincial budget, accounting for 74% of the total budget revenue from the FDI sector and 21.4% of the total regional budget revenue, handling more than 400 workers. The garment factory project of Hanesbrands Co., Ltd. (USA) also contributed to the local budget of $1.8 million, creating jobs for 6,388 workers, etc.
According to the Department of Planning and Investment, in the period 2016-2020, the FDI sector is expected to see a contribution about $446.3 million to the budget, increasing to 35.3% compared to the period 2011-2015.
Mr. Nguyen Dai Vui, Director of the Department of Planning and Investment, stated that in the 2016-2020 period, the global economy tends to recover. In the local area, there are 53 new projects that have been newly granted with registered investment capital of $543.7 million, which has attracted a number of big projects such as Hue Amusement & Beach Park (Spain), Phu Son domestic waste treatment plant (Hong Kong), Kanglongda Factory (Hong Kong), Billion Max Vietnam export processing factory (Hong Kong).
During this period, outstandingly, there are some large investors from Hong Kong who came to carry out research and invest in the province, with a total capital of $302.5 million, accounting for 55.6% of the total registered capital in the 2016-2020 period. The rooting cause stems from the fluctuations of the world situation, especially the US-China trade war, which creates the trend of shifting investment into Vietnam in general and Thua Thien Hue in particular.
Capturing investment opportunities
Vietnam is considered a country with good control of the COVID-19 epidemic. Particularly, Thua Thien Hue has pretty well controlled the pandemic, which is regarded as an advantage for the locality in attracting FDI, especially the investment shift. Also, when the EVFTA was signed, Vietnam has been brought into the global supply chain, becoming a location for industrial powers to move their factories to.
The Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) facilitates FDI attraction through a commitment to capital and asset safety for foreign investors. The above mentioned events will create a vital driving force to open up prospects in attracting FDI.
According to Mr. Nguyen Dai Vui, when Vietnam actively and dynamically participates in EVFTA, there will be advantages to become an attractive investment destination for European businesses. A more open and advantageous investment environment, combining with a more attractive export prospect will attract more FDI from the EU to Vietnam.
To welcome the new investment wave, the province is focusing on solutions to improve the business investment environment, promote start-ups and creativity and innovation; meanwhile, implementing measures to maintain and improve the ranking of indexes related to administrative reform such as PCI, PAPI, PAR Index, and carrying out an assessment of the competitiveness of departments, sectors and localities (DDCI).
Currently, the province is stepping up the implementation of investment promotion activities in 2020 and building investment promotion plans for the following years towards enhancing the local investment attraction, supporting and speeding up the implementation progress; meanwhile, tenaciously handling projects that violate investment progress, adjusting regulations on the order and procedures of implementation, supervision and management of investment and construction projects without using the state capital in the province to shorten the investment procedure time.
"The Department is supporting to accelerate the progress of projects that have granted investment certificates such as Hue Kanglongda Factory Project, Nakamoto Vietnam Factory Project, etc., and reviewing investment calling criteria to select potential and branded investors. At the same time, it will review the projects that still exist certain issues in the area, direct the complete settlement to facilitate the construction and completion of projects to exploit the investment capital effectively," shared Mr. Vui.
Story and photo: HOANG LOAN