The southeast region will continue to be the major FDI magnet of the country in 2023. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — The southeast region is preparing conditions in infrastructure, administrative procedures and human resources to welcome a new wave of foreign direct investment (FDI), as investors have flocked to the region from the beginning of this year.

The region, comprising HCM City and five provinces of Đồng Nai, Bình Dương, Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu, Bình Phước, and Tây Ninh, is attractive to investors. HCM City and Bình Dương were the leading localities in FDI attraction in 2022 with US$3.94 billion and $3.14 billion, respectively.

Right at the beginning of 2023, Bình Dương welcomed many large firms coming to explore local investment opportunities, including Sembcorp and CapitaLand from Singapore, Nebraska from the US, and Tokyu from Japan.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI)’s Foreign Investment Department, the southeast region will continue to be the major FDI magnet of the country in 2023. This year, the country may lure about $36-38 billion in FDI.

In order to attract investors, over recent years, the region has focused on developing infrastructure to strengthen regional connectivity. The 76.3km Belt Road No 3 crossing four localities of HCM City, Bình Dương, Đồng Nai, and Long An will be launched in the second quarter of this year, contributing to motivating the region’s development.

Meanwhile, regional localities have broadened the national highway and expressway systems to boost their growth.

Commenting on the growth prospects of the region, Japanese Consul General in HCM City Watanabe Nobuhiro said that once the Biên Hòa – Vũng Tàu expressway and Belt Roads No 3 and No 4 are put into operation, the connections between regional localities will be enhanced, making the region even more attractive.

The localities have also expanded their industrial parks (IPs) to make more space for investors.

HCM City is working on a 668ha Phạm Văn Hải IP, while Bình Dương is turning the 1,000ha Việt Nam-Singapore IP (VSIP) into a green IP and investing in the 1,000ha Cây Trường IP as well as Rạch Bắp IP.

At the same time, Đồng Nai is finalising procedures to set up eight other IPs, which are expected to provide more than 7,000 hectares of industrial land for investors.

Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu is also working on a plan to set up eight more IPs with a total area of over 8,000 hectares from now to 2030.

Furthermore, the localities have concentrated on improving their investment environment, with the promotion of single-window mechanism at IPs, aiming to make all procedures involving businesses faster, smoother and easier.

In terms of human resources, the localities have formed a linkage among the State, businesses and training facilities to ensure the outcome of human resources training match businesses’ demand and create a start-up ecosystem.

With the careful preparations of necessary conditions, experts predicted that the region will continue to take the leading role in FDI attraction. — VNS