HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc said the Vietnamese Government and authorities of the northern port Hải Phòng City would play its role in setting up development, removing difficulties and creating favourable conditions for South Korea’s LG Corporation to expand business in Việt Nam.

Speaking at a ceremony to kick off work on a production and outsourcing zone for organic light emitting diode (OLED) display products, the Government leader said with an investment capital of US$1.5 billion, the project was one of the largest foreign direct investment projects in Hải Phòng City. He applauded the production of environmentally friendly high-tech products that added value and were internationally competitive.

The project, invested by LG Corporation’s LG Display Co Ltd, covers 40.5ha of the Tràng Duệ Industrial Park in the city’s Đình Vũ–Cát Hải Economic Zone.

“This project and others of the LG Corporation will create a large electronic and information technology complex in Việt Nam,” said Phúc.

To carry out the project successfully, Phúc required relevant ministries and sectors to co-ordinate with the city and the investor during the project’s implementation process, ensuring the project be implemented under the country’s regulations of process, quality, safety and effectiveness.

The LG Corporation and South Korean investors needed to concentrate their resources to complete this project, said the Prime Minister.

The factory is planned to start operations in early 2017, creating about 6,000 jobs for local residents.

Most of the OELD display products manufactured will be for the world market, though about 20 per cent of the products were aimed to serve domestic consumption.

According to the Sài Gòn-Hải Phòng Industrial Park Joint Stock Company, owner of the Tràng Duệ Industrial Park, the LG Corporation’s project has brought a series of LG suppliers and satellite companies from South Korea and a number of other countries to the industrial park.

It is reported that 27 satellite businesses of LG Electronics have invested in the park, with a total registered capital of over $731 million. There are many other investors also interested in this area.

South Korea is the third largest trading partner of Việt Nam. Việt Nam is also the third largest exporter to South Korea. The two-way trade turnover has increased 75 times since 1992 to nearly touch $38 billion. South Korea is also the largest investor in Việt Nam, with nearly 4,800 projects, worth around $45 billion. — VNS