Thai Binh Economic Zone attracts interest from Swiss businesses

DNHN - Thai Binh provincial leaders and businesses introduced to the Swiss business community the image of a dynamic locality with a diverse economy and great potential for attracting investment and cooperation from Europe.

At the investment and trade promotion workshop with the theme “Thai Binh Economic Zone - A Rising Economic Satellite in Northern Vietnam” on March 22, 2024, in Zurich, the economic centre of Switzerland, Thai Binh provincial leaders stated: “Switzerland is particularly strong in finance, banking, insurance, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, food and agricultural processing, renewable energy and tourism services. These are the sectors that Thai Binh is seeking investment and cooperation to develop, creating a strong socio-economic foundation.”

10 businesses operating in Thai Binh province joined the delegation led by Provincial People’s Committee Chairman Nguyen Khac Than to Switzerland and the Federal Republic of Germany in late March.

The workshop in Zurich was organised by the Swiss-Vietnam Business Bridge (SVBG) and the Swiss-Asian Chamber of Commerce (SACC), in coordination with the Thai Binh Provincial People’s Committee and the Vietnamese Embassy in Switzerland. Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland Phung The Long and representatives of nearly 30 local businesses and economic organisations in the fields of medicine, energy, mechanical engineering, textiles, logistics and banking attended the workshop.

Welcoming the delegation of Thai Binh leaders and businesses at the workshop, Commercial Counsellor Nguyen Duc Thuong, representing the Vietnamese Embassy in Switzerland, said: Vietnam is becoming an increasingly important partner of Switzerland in the Asia-Pacific region. Switzerland currently ranks 22nd out of 144 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. Many businesses from this country have achieved great success when investing and doing business in Vietnam. Therefore, the workshop is an opportunity for Swiss partners to better understand Thai Binh, opening up opportunities for cooperation and attracting more investors from Switzerland to Thai Binh in the future.

Meanwhile, in his speech at the workshop, Mr Nguyen Quang Hung, Permanent Vice Chairman of Thai Binh Province, said: “In 2023, Thai Binh’s exports to the Swiss market reached 1.2 million USD, accounting for 0.05% of the province’s total export turnover. The main export item is textiles. This figure is modest, not commensurate with the potential for cooperation between the two sides.”

“But we also believe that through this workshop, Swiss businesses and investors will come to learn and decide to cooperate and invest in Thai Binh,” Hung said.

Thai Binh is a coastal plain province in northern Vietnam with an area of 1,545 km2 and a population of 2 million. In recent years, Thai Binh province’s economic growth rate has always been among the top in Vietnam, reaching 7.37% in 2023. The province’s investment capital in 2023 reached 98,256.6 billion VND (4.1 billion USD), 4.6 times higher than the same period in 2022; of which, foreign direct investment (FDI) reached nearly 3 billion USD and ranked 5th nationwide in attracting FDI.

Vice Chairman Nguyen Quang Hung also said that the total FDI investment in the Economic Zone and industrial parks of Thai Binh in the period 2021-2023 reached 104,000 billion VND (4.4 billion USD), of which FDI reached 3.74 billion USD, 4.45 times higher than the total FDI of the province in the period before 2020, putting Thai Binh in 15th and 16th place nationwide in attracting FDI in 2021 and 2022. In the first two months of 2024, the province attracted 78.3 million USD in FDI.

In terms of exports, in 2023, the province’s total exports are estimated to reach 2.6 billion USD, an increase of 6.0%; imports are estimated to reach 1.8 billion USD. The main export items are: computers, electronic products and components; iron and steel products, means of transport and spare parts, other goods, paper and paper products, fibres, and various types of textiles. The main export markets are the US, South Korea, China, Japan, and EU countries.

The Vice Chairman of Thai Binh province said that the province is strongly emerging and becoming the most attractive investment destination among the northern provinces of Vietnam thanks to three main factors:

Thai Binh has the Thai Binh Economic Zone, a particularly preferential investment area, with the highest investment incentives according to the provisions of Vietnamese law. The area of land for industrial development is large (8,020 ha), meeting the development needs of investors; The geographical location is favourable, adjacent to Hai Phong City, belonging to the key economic growth triangle in northern Vietnam (Hanoi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh), directly accessing the national transport system, about 35km from Cat Bi international airport (Hai Phong), about 50km from Lach Huyen port (Hai Phong), and about 140km from Noi Bai international airport (Hanoi).

Thai Binh also has abundant human resources, with over 1 million people of working age, who are hard-working, sociable, and highly skilled.

The Thai Binh provincial government always accompanies, supports, and creates the most favourable conditions for investors throughout the process of investment research, project implementation, and production and business activities in the province. Investors only need to provide documents and data, and the provincial agencies will support the preparation of dossiers to apply for Investment Certificates.

Thanks to such potential and advantages, the Thai Binh Economic Zone has attracted many large industrial park (IP) infrastructure projects from investors with experience and capacity such as Green i-Park of Lien Ha Thai, VSIP Thai Binh of the Vietnam-Singapore joint venture VSIP, Tien Hai of Viglacera Group, Hai Long of Bao Minh.

At the workshop, Thai Binh businesses introduced their operations and capabilities and pointed out potential areas for cooperation with Swiss and European businesses and investors. Bao Minh Investment Joint Stock Company introduced Hai Long IP as an address for building a manufacturing plant; Bao Hung International Joint Stock Company with the Omeli confectionery brand and Mikado Group Joint Stock Company with Mikado brand tiles and building materials are looking for trade partners to export products; Thang Long Import-Export Investment Joint Stock Company (DragonGroup) operating in many fields from construction, mineral exploitation, garment, hotel accommodation, to petrol, car and motorbike trading is looking for trade partners, and so on. In particular, Newtechco Group Joint Stock Company presented a project to build the first Biopharma Park in Vietnam with a scale of 300 ha and an investment capital of 150 - 200 million USD, in Quynh Phu district, Thai Binh province.

Mr Nicolas Panzer, Head of MedTech Relations at Switzerland Global Enterprise, the Swiss government’s export and investment promotion agency, expressed interest in Newtechco’s project and asked about Vietnam’s regulations on the import and distribution of pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Mr Marco Ruocco, Head of Sales in Switzerland for DSV AIR & SEA (Sweden), a logistics and transport group with two offices in Vietnam, said that Thai Binh’s geographical location is very important for his company’s operations. Therefore, he hopes that Thai Binh will develop an economic infrastructure system as planned in the province’s strategic plan and become a link in DSV’s map of operations.

Meanwhile, Mr Jonas Franceschina, Purchasing Director of 3S Swiss Solar Solutions, a supplier of solar energy equipment and solutions, expressed interest in renewable energy projects in Thai Binh; a representative of Stadler Rail, a well-known Swiss railway equipment group, wanted to learn about the railway project that the Vietnamese government plans to build through Thai Binh province.

The concerns and questions of Swiss businesses were provided with additional information and answers by the leaders of Thai Binh province.

Optimistic about the future of Vietnam and the prospects of Thai Binh, Mr Roger Leitner, CEO and Chairman of the Vietnam Committee of SACC, who has been doing business with Vietnam, said: “I have found many opportunities for Swiss companies in Vietnam. And Thai Binh, as a rising economic satellite, can bring even more opportunities for investors. The future is even brighter when Vietnam has policies to support foreign direct investment as it does now.”

As the person in charge of organising the workshop, Ms Nguyen Thi Thuc, Founding Chairwoman of SVBG, commented: “In the process of working with the Thai Binh provincial government and businesses to prepare for the workshop, I saw the desire and ambition to turn the province from a purely agricultural province into a modern, industrialised and prosperous city in every citizen of the province. I believe that Thai Binh will rise quickly and attract the attention of European investors.”

Xuan Cuong