According to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, in November, the province ranked fourth in the country in terms of attracting foreign direct investment, with total registered capital of about $33 billion across 532 projects.

Estimated for the year, there have been 43 projects in industrial parks (IPs) in the province, of which 15 were foreign-led, with total registered capital of nearly $270 million; and 31 domestic projects at capital of $297 million, exceeding 26 per cent in a number of projects and 22 per cent in capital compared to its plan.

At a seminar on industrial development in the southern key economic region held on December 12, Nguyen Cong Vinh, Deputy Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said that Ba Ria-Vung Tau highly appreciates the capacity, roles, and responsibilities of investors and businesses in their efforts to overcome the complexities of the last couple of years.

“The province will continue to accelerate the implementation of key projects and works on regional infrastructure, reduction of administrative procedures, and improving the investment environment. We continue to work with businesses and investors to promote economic development activities as well as to strive to overcome challenges and utilise all opportunities to develop sustainably,” said Vinh.

With many advantages of deepwater seaports, industrial and tourism development, and convenient transportation infrastructure in the dynamic economic zone of the southeast, Ba Ria-Vung Tau is creating a strong image of a location with rich potential and a promising destination for investment.

The province has lured in long-term business from the US, the UK, South Korea, Japan, and others with their direct funding in 15 IPs. Among those, 13 such parks are operating in diverse industries such as electricity, gas, metallurgy, mechanics, shipbuilding, chemicals, building materials, and fertiliser production.

Utilising the advantages of geographical location, Ba Ria-Vung Tau has also built logistics service centres and developed its port system, having built and put into operation 50 port projects with a capacity of 150 million tonnes per year.

Located on the trans-Asian route with special grade deepwater ports that can receive container ships from 80,000 to 250,000 tonnes (6,000-24,000 TEU), Ba Ria-Vung Tau is playing the essential role of a gateway for Vietnam to the sea.

Projects such as Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway, Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 4, Bien Hoa-Vung Tau railway, and the inter-port transport system will form a multimodel transport system, connecting synchronously among Thi Vai and Cai Mep port systems, Cai Mep Ha logistics centre, the planned Long Thanh International Airport, and logistics service centres, industrial zones, and urban areas in the region.

Nobuyuki Matsumoto, chief representative of the Japan Trade Promotion Organization in Ho Chi Minh City, said that the confidence of Japanese investors in Vietnam and the southern key economic region in particular has been increasing recently.

“Abundant labour resources and cheaper labour costs, stable economic growth, and diversified trade policies – along with various free trade agreements – are gradually increasing the attractiveness of this region,” Matsumoto said.

For the investment orientation in the coming time, Ba Ria-Vung Tau is determined to further develop industries and fields, according to the official provincial development plan for 2021-2030 with a vision to 2050, to effectively exploit the potential and advantages of the locality. Focus will be on setting up a goods distribution centre connecting with Long Thanh airport, establishing a free trade zone at Cai Mep, and implementing a programme on efficient usage of energy.

In services, the province will focus on completing the detailed plan of Cai Mep Ha logistics centre and choosing investors for seaport development and attracting foreign funding in marine economic development.

In tourism development, the province continues to promote major ventures which have been already approved, as well as implementing the tourism development strategy to cover the rest of the decade and beyond.