A tyre manufacturing plant in Tây Ninh Province’s Gò Dầu District. The province will focus more on helping businesses improve their production in the second quarter. —VNA/VNS Photo

TÂY NINH — The southeastern province of Tây Ninh will prioritise increasing local production and attracting investment after an under-performing first quarter for its exports.

Kiều Công Minh, director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment, said that Tây Ninh’s export turnover in the first quarter of the year was US$1.17 billion, a 19.7 per cent drop year-on-year.

Production output of many export goods dropped across the board, such as footwear by 36.3 per cent, fabric 31.2 per cent, and vehicles and accessories 17.1 per cent.

The province’s industrial production fell due to businesses facing difficulties and seeing fewer orders from abroad. They had to cut down on their operations, and some even closed temporarily.

Attracting domestic and foreign investment projects was also difficult due to global economic challenges. Around $101.8 million worth of foreign investment (including new registered projects and existing project registering more capital) was poured into the province in the first quarter, a 52.2 per cent drop year-on-year.

For the second quarter, departments and relevant authorities have been instructed to create favourable conditions for new investment projects to take off, especially those that are struggling with land issues.

Tây Ninh will continue to pay more attention to foreign investment projects to help them expand, and attract more projects to the province.

Local authorities will help businesses access the province’s supportive policies and favourable loans.

Lê Thanh Kiệt, deputy head of Tây Ninh’s Economic Zone Authority, said that several investors are looking at the province or considering expanding their projects, so the second and third quarters of the year are expected to see improvements in investment attraction.

The authority will work with the province to publish a list of projects calling for funding, and facilitate investment into Tây Ninh, especially foreign.

Tây Ninh is part of the Southern Key Economic Zone, bordering HCM City, Bình Dương, Long An, and Cambodia. Its logistically important Mộc Bài International Border Gate plays a big role in facilitating trade.

Its economy grew by 9.56 per cent in 2022, leading the southeastern region, with high growth in exports, industrial production and retail sales. — VNS