Nghe An: Proactively welcoming investment 'waves' from Korea

(Baonghean) - In order not to miss golden opportunities for cooperation and attracting investment capital from Korea, Nghe An is proactively grasping the needs of potential partners and making efforts to prove its competitiveness as an attractive investment destination.

Open opportunities

Comrade Nguyen Dac Vinh - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee welcomed Korean investors visiting and working in Nghe An. Photo: PV

Following recent tensions on the Korean peninsula, on February 10, 2016, South Korea decided to suspend operations at the Kaeseong Industrial Zone, leading to the suspension of production and business activities of about 120 South Korean companies there. In a difficult situation, the Association of Korean Enterprises operating in the Kaeseong Industrial Zone is struggling to find a new direction, considering the option of shifting investment abroad, choosing a more stable and long-term investment environment. Understanding the wishes of the other side, during Nghe An's investment promotion trip to South Korea, the provincial leaders invited South Korean enterprises to visit, personally survey, and learn about the actual conditions and incentives for foreign investors in Nghe An.

In response to that goodwill, in early November, just a few days after the Nghe An delegation returned home from their working trip to Korea, dozens of businesses that had been based in the Kaesong Industrial Zone had a short but very effective trip to visit and explore investment cooperation prospects in President Ho Chi Minh's hometown. Thereby, the businesses learned about Nghe An's preferential policies to attract foreign investment as well as visited some land plots and projects in Thanh Chuong, Hung Nguyen, Nghi Loc, Quynh Luu districts and Hoang Mai, Thai Hoa, and Cua Lo towns.

At each destination, Korean businesses not only heard a detailed and complete introduction about the geographical location, boundaries, population and labor scale of the locality, but also had the opportunity to deeply learn and compare the advantages between locations in many different aspects: from the ability to connect traffic infrastructure to electricity, water and waste treatment systems, from area and land characteristics to the current status of site clearance, land handover speed and land rental price if they "catch the eye" of investors.

The number of stops of the delegation is the number of options that Nghe An has carefully researched before deciding to promote in detail to investors, and is a wide open opportunity for your businesses to "target" a fertile investment land, suitable for the specific criteria that each of them envisioned and set before coming to Vietnam.

Construction of Hi-tex Garment Factory of Korean investor at Nghia My Industrial Park (Nghia Dan).

Another “plus point” that Nghe An leaves in the impression of potential investors is the enthusiasm, active and wholehearted support from the provincial leaders. Before and after the field trip, meetings in the spirit of open dialogue, promptly answering questions from businesses about issues surrounding the investment environment, preferential mechanisms, and incentive policies of Vietnam in general and Nghe An in particular for investors are a bridge for the two sides to come closer together, opening up bright prospects in the future.

Mr. Jeong Gi Seob - General Director of SNG Company, head of the business delegation of Kaeseong Industrial Zone Council, said that he and the members of the delegation were very grateful for the hospitality and thoughtful reception of Nghe An. After personally verifying and "seeing and hearing with my own eyes", Head of the delegation Jeong Gi Seob highly appreciated the competitive advantages of the province when compared to other localities both inside and outside Vietnam. Abundant human resources, stable skills, policies and mechanisms are being innovated in a more open and positive direction, along with the commitment from the provincial leaders to provide maximum support to businesses when investing in industrial parks in the area in terms of factories, technical infrastructure of electricity, water, transportation to the factory fence, etc.

Responsive to needs

The initial results from the survey trip of the business group under the Kaeseong Industrial Zone Council were 3 Memorandums of Agreement (MoA) signed right at the meeting to summarize the trip. It must be affirmed that this is an optimistic signal when Korean businesses have just set foot in Nghe An, and the contents of the MoA between the province and large companies and corporations in the fields of medical waste treatment, container production and garment are the first bricks laying the foundation for the prospect of long-term cooperation between the two sides. Thereby, it partly shows the proactive anticipation and smooth coordination between departments, branches and localities to promptly provide information that partners want to learn.

Engineers working at Haivina Kim Lien garment factory. Photo: Chau Lan

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Ngoc Hoa affirmed: We have frankly introduced to them the incentives, advantages and also the difficulties and limitations of each location during the survey journey, making a strong impression on them. In the coming time, the Korean business side will conduct research and discuss in detail before submitting the project so that Nghe An can help them complete the next procedures. From a few initial investors, if we know how to create waves, I believe we will spark a strong wave of investment in Nghe An from Korea, especially from the Kaeseong Industrial Zone Council./.

Thu Giang