InvestLink

Industrial parks and export processing zones across Vietnam are racing to snatch hi-tech projects.

Viglacera Corporation, investor of Tien Son Industrial Park (IP) in northern Bac Ninh province, has taken time to fly to Tokyo and Osaka to seek investors with modern and environmentally-friendly technologies for its IP.

Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA) is planning to tour Japan to find partners for establishing an IP for Japanese businesses only with a focus on attracting hi-tech producers.

Kinh Bac City Development Share Holding Corporation (KBC), one among leading enterprises in Vietnam in terms of luring hi-tech projects from world giants such as Canon, Foxconn, MITAC, Panasonic, Sanyo, Wintek, UMEC, Tenma, Mitsui, VS, Sentec, Toyo Ink and Yamato Industries continues to pull in large hi-tech projects into its IPs.

“With the orientation of developing green, modern and sustainable IPs, most projects in IPs which are developed by KBC are in the field of hi-tech, making electronics and precise engineering products,” said Dang Thanh Tam, KBC chairman.

In the development strategy until 2015, in addition to developing modern and environmentally-friendly urban-industrial complexes, KBC will stress attracting domestic and foreign enterprises with modern technologies to build factories and provide services in the IPs.

Attracting many hi-tech projects was also a measure to “add scores” for IPs and EPZs in pulling in investment capital, raising economic effect, Tam said.

Vu Van Hoa, head of HEPZA, said the authority attach special importance to drawing investment projects from large groups with modern, high value-added, less labour-intensive and environmentally-friendly technologies so as to develop advanced technology industries and create spreading influence to attract satellite companies into local export processing zones and IPs.

Hoa said in the coming time HEPZA would focus on luring investment projects in industries which make high value-added products, use clean technologies and hi-qualified labour force, such as electronics-telecoms-informatics, chemicals, manufacturing and food processing.

Deputy minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Van Trung said an important solution to enhance the quality of investment attraction into IPs was to prioritise investment into industries, set up sector-connectivity IPs with to increase competitive advantages and operational efficiency of IPs, establishing supporting industries, contributing to the shift of local economic structure towards enhancing the ratio of industrial added values.