HÀ NỘI — The southern Bình Dương Province’s People’s Committee on Wednesday granted investment certificates to 21 projects worth US$1.3 billion, the first batch of projects to receive the go-ahead this year.

Of these, 10 are new foreign direct investment (FDI) projects whose registered capital totals around $740.7 million, and eight are existing FDI projects that had applied for capital increase totalling $536 million. The remaining three projects are by local investors and have combined registered capital of VNĐ740 billion ($32.8 million).

Trần Thanh Liêm, chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said the new projects and project expansion plans reflect investor confidence and long-term commitment to contributing to the province’s development.

So far, the province has attracted $27 billion of FDI from around 2,900 projects, ranking second in FDI capital scale, after HCM City. However, the amount of FDI capital flowing into the southern province has been higher since the beginning of 2017.

“We recognise and highly appreciate the contributions,” Liêm said, adding that the province is working constantly to be an attractive business destination for investors. To do so, provincial leaders and heads of agencies are focusing their efforts on completing the region’s technical infrastructure projects, making administrative reforms and increasing competitiveness, the chairman said.

The province will take timely measures to address the issues that enterprises face, Liêm promised.

“The business community plays an important role in contributing to the province’s socio-economic development, so we are ready to hear opinions and suggestions from associations and enterprises, as well as aspirations and desires, so that we can come up with suitable solutions to make our investment environment more friendly and efficient,” Liêm said.

Bình Dương ranks fourth among 63 cities and provinces nationwide in the Provincial Competitive Index, announced by the Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry. — VNS