Riding the Wave of Robust Investment

With its geographical location, favorable natural conditions and specific policies, Khanh Hoa continues to be an attractive investment destination. In the coming time, the province will prepare the foundations and ecosystems to welcome major investors.

Strong investment inflows to Khanh Hoa

2023 saw impressive investment promotion outcomes of Khanh Hoa province, laying the premise for attracting investors in the following years. Based on approved important plans, namely Khanh Hoa Provincial Plan for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2050, and revised general construction plan for Van Phong Economic Zone to 2040, with a vision to 2050, the province also received big domestic and foreign corporations to explore investment opportunities in the province. Especially, Van Phong Economic Zone received Sun Group, Flamingo Holding Company, SSI Joint Stock Company, Shinec Joint Stock Company, Tan Cang Saigon Joint Stock Company, Trung Nam Construction Investment Joint Stock Company, Sonadezi Corporation and Woima Finland.

The Khanh Hoa Young Entrepreneurs Association signs an MoU with the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), March 2023

In 2023, the province attracted 17 private investment projects with a total registered investment capital of VND100,865.7 billion; allowed 19 existing projects to raise their investment capital to VND41,108.6 billion; and approved three investment projects with VND2,446 billion. As of the end of 2023, Khanh Hoa province drew 112 foreign-invested projects (including Van Phong Economic Zone and Suoi Dau Industrial Park) with total registered capital of US$3.9 billion.

Following the success of 2023, in 2024, Khanh Hoa province has worked with various agencies and organizations and met with many businesses in major cities of the United States and Japan to introduce its potential strengths and development orientation, and exchange cooperation and investment opportunities in many fields. Additionally, Europe is one of its key investment promotion markets. “This demanding market requires careful preparation for meetings. As soon as necessary conditions are ready, the province will organize events to invite reputable investors and strategic investors from Europe to invest in its key industries and fields in need of investment capital,” said Mr. Chau Ngo Anh Nhan, Director of the Khanh Hoa Department of Planning and Investment.

Selective investment attraction

To enhance its competitive advantages in investment attraction, Khanh Hoa will focus on implementing workable solutions. First of all, it is necessary to speed up the investment progress of key national and provincial transport projects with inter-regional connectivity like Van Phong - Nha Trang Expressway, Khanh Hoa - Buon Me Thuot Expressway, Nha Trang - Da Lat Expressway and blueprint Khanh Hoa - Ho Chi Minh City high-speed railway. The province will continue to call for investors to invest in infrastructure facilities in industrial zones and to support infrastructure investors in resolving matters arising from investment procedures. It will resolutely reform administrative procedures, improve the investment and business environment and raise the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) rankings to the Top 15 group of provinces and cities. It will reinforce human resource training and development, especially high-quality personnel to meet recruitment needs of domestic and foreign enterprises.

Furthermore, Khanh Hoa will gradually bring practical policies closer to people and investors, such as the Land Law, the Housing Law and the Real Estate Business Law in addition to relevant effective decrees and circulars. The province will closely abide by Resolution 55/2022/QH15 on pilot mechanisms and policies for Khanh Hoa development to boost marine economic growth in the province, with focus on drawing strategic investors to invest in listed priority industries and sectors and with special attention paid to investment in Van Phong Economic Zone. The locality will enforce Decision 2051/QD-UBND on regulations on management and use of funds for implementation of the Khanh Hoa Supporting Industry Development Program (amended and supplemented in Decision 1307/QD-UBND dated May 24, 2024). Regarding this issue, according to leaders of the Department of Planning and Investment, current central and local support policies have not actually promoted the development of supporting industries while the investment wave for supporting industries from many countries has surfed into Vietnam in recent years, with a larger scale and a very quick speed. Therefore, the department also proposed that the central government should review the legal system to have appropriate mechanisms and policies to create momentum for the vigorous development of supporting industries in Vietnam, including Khanh Hoa province.

Nhan emphasized that Khanh Hoa is determined to adopt selective investment attraction in high-tech and clean energy industries. Specifically, in 2021 - 2030, the province will focus on orderly prioritized industries as follows high-quality agricultural, forest and aquatic product and food processing industry; high-tech mechanical engineering industry (mainly shipbuilding); clean energy, renewable energy, oil and gas processing industries; electronics, telecommunications, semiconductor industries; supporting industries for mechanical engineering, electronics, telecommunications, semiconductor industries; biotechnology, vaccine production and marine medicinal material industries; and construction materials industries.

Defining digital transformation as a breakthrough leverage for socioeconomic development, the Department of Planning and Investment is coordinating with consultants to conduct surveys on related contents used for the construction of the Provincial Economic Data Warehouse (Phase 1) which will be interconnected with socioeconomic database of the Ministry of Planning and Investment and expected to be completed in 2025. The agency will also work with the Department of Information and Communications and related agencies to develop an information center for direction and operation of the Intelligent Operations Center (IOC).

Last but not least, the province will continue to prepare platforms and ecosystems to welcome large and potential investors.

By Duy Anh, Vietnam Business Forum