With a tradition of industrial development, Haiphong has issued many supportive policies for investors, especially in the fields of high-tech, processing, and manufacturing. In the first 11 months of 2022, the city became home to 80 newly-licensed projects worth almost $1.04 billion.

Newly-licensed ventures in industrial zones (IZs) have a combined investment capital of $920.9 million, accounting for 88.7 per cent of the total capital. New projects outside IZs and economic zones have a combined capital amount of $116.9 million, making up 11.26 per cent.

Meanwhile, there were 36 projects registering to adjust their capital in the given period, with this total reaching $881.5 million. The processing and manufacturing industries attracted the most new initiatives and capital increases. By the end of November, there were over 850 valid foreign-invested projects in the city, with the total investment capital of $24.5 billion.

Aside from increasing capital inflows into the city, Haiphong has also experienced impressive economic growth. In 2020, Haiphong’s regional GDP increased by 11.22 per cent, posting the second-highest regional GDP growth rate in the country. Last year, Haiphong took the lead with a growth rate of 12.38 per cent, four times higher than the GDP growth rate of the whole country.

Trang Due Industrial Park Hai Phong

In 2022, Haiphong achieved a growth rate of 12.3 per cent year-on-year, about 1.5 times the national average. The city is among the leading localities in Vietnam in terms of economic growth.

Haiphong has made great efforts to improve the business climate. A leader of LG Display Vietnam Haiphong said that the company will continue to pour capital into the locality, not stopping at $4.65 billion.

LG Group has invested almost $7.24 billion into Trang Due IZ. LG Group has formed a network of more than 50 satellite suppliers with a combined investment capital of nearly $1 billion.

The province has attracted foreign-invested powerhouses with significant influence in their industries. For instance, Taiwanese-backed Pegatron Corporation, which produces 30 per cent of components for Apple, has boosted its investment capital by $300 million, bringing the total to $800 million.

Pegatron’s manufacturing expansion has led to the rising demand for other suppliers in the supply chain. Thus, some suppliers of Pegatron have considered Haiphong as the top investment destination when coming to Vietnam.

Many other foreign groups have come to Haiphong to explore and pour capital into the city. However, there is growing competition in foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction, and there is no gap between countries and regions. As a result, funding promotion strategies must be constantly updated and innovated to meet the changing demand.

Le Trung Kien, director of Haiphong Economic Zones Management Authority, stressed that the implementation of new IZs is one of the solutions to lure investment capital into Haiphong. Before 2025, the city will develop and expand 15 IZs over more than 6,100 hectares, creating top conditions for investors to explore Haiphong.

According to Kien, thanks to the heavy funding in seaport, transport, and IZ infrastructure, Haiphong has become more attractive to investors.

“To maintain the top position in the country’s FDI attraction, the city will continue to develop infrastructure, especially related transport infrastructure projects, to improve connectivity,” Kien said. “Meanwhile, the city will develop the circular economy and prioritise the use of renewable energy in line with sustainable trends such as solar energy and wind power.”

According to Nguyen Hoang Long, director of Haiphong Department of Planning and Investment, the city set a goal of attracting $11 billion in FDI in the 2021-2025 period. The city will focus on promoting the linkage between local and foreign-invested enterprises to increase the efficiency of cooperation.

“At the same time, the city will not only increase the localisation rate of foreign-invested groups, but also improves production capacity and promote the development of domestic enterprises, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises in the supply chain,” Long said.