The authorities of northern Bac Ninh province always create favourable conditions for, and work to promptly remove difficulties facing foreign businesses, including those from the Republic of Korea (RoK), to effectively operate in the locality, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Dao Hong Lan has said.

Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Dao Hong Lan (R) and  Korean Ambassador
to Vietnam Park Noh-wan at the reception

Lan made the statement during a reception for Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Park Noh-wan on January 13, during which she called on Korean investors to pour more investment into Bac Ninh in the time to come, especially in development of smart cities, education-training, hi-tech agriculture, supporting industry, environmental protection and energy saving, and automobile and component manufacturing.

The provincial authorities will also make it easier for local enterprises to export goods, especially handicraft products, to the Korean market, she noted.

According to the official, Bac Ninh is one of the provinces with the fast growth rate and leading indicators in the country. The province is home to 10 concentrated industrial parks, attracting more than 1,500 foreign-invested enterprises from 37 countries and territories.

The RoK is taking the lead in terms of foreign investment in Bac Ninh, with 945 projects totalling US$13.27 billion, accounting for about 66.33% of the total amount of foreign investment in the province, Lan stressed.

Recently, the provincial authorities have worked closely with relevant agencies to allow foreign experts, managers, highly skilled workers, mainly from the RoK, to enter the province for working, she noted.

In order to minimise difficulties for businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Bac Ninh has extended the deadline for tax payments for Korean firms, benefiting 178 enterprises with the total amount of VND1.15 trillion (nearly US$49.9 million).

Fore his part, Park highly appreciated Bac Ninh's achievements in socio-economic development and foreign investment attraction, and thanked the local authorities for their policies to support Korean enterprises amid difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He expressed his hope that Bac Ninh will have more mechanisms and policies to facilitate Korean firms’ investment, thus further contributing to the province's economic development.

The ambassador promised to encourage Korean businesses to explore and invest in Bac Ninh province, especially in developing smart cities and hospitals, protecting the environment, and cooperating in education-training.