At the Vietnam-Taiwan Business Forum in Hanoi last week, Satoshi Kobayashi, deputy general director of the Japanese-invested Thang Long Industrial Park (IP), said he aimed to attract more Taiwanese investors.

Industrial parks within Vietnam keen on Taiwanese investment - illustration photo

“We see a big opportunity for Taiwanese customers with an interest in the Vietnamese market for manufacturing and production, especially in northern Vietnam where there is potential for more funding,” he told VIR. “We have expanded our IP, and we have land on sale already for interested parties from the likes of Japan and Taiwan.”

At present, the IP operates several complexes, where the majority of tenants are Japanese investors. While Vietnam has seen quite aggressive investment coming from Taiwan, there are still only 10 Taiwanese businesses at the IP.

Anticipating the potential, other IPs like Amata, IDICO, Gilimex, Phu My 3, and Fuji Holdings are trying to lure Taiwanese investors.

Nguyen Tang Dat, sales and marketing manager at Gilimex IP, said the company is currently engaged with two parks, including one of 460 hectares in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue and the other of 400ha in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long, to target Taiwanese investors and other interested parties.

“In recent years, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China have been among the biggest foreign investors here. We see more coming to seek new opportunities and we want to pick up the trend,” he said.

At present, Gilimex Thua Thien-Hue is available for investors and businesses, while Gilimex Vinh Long is expected to be put into operation in 2025.

“Vietnam continues to be one of the most attractive investment destinations for Asian, European, and US corporations. Therefore, we are working with authorities of the northern provinces of Bac Giang and Bac Ninh, as well as the south-central province of Quang Ngai on potential IP projects.”

With more IPs to be put into operation, investors will have a varied selection. By the end of 2023, Vietnam aimed for 414 IPs (including four export processing zones) with a total natural land area of ​​nearly 129,000ha. Of them, almost 300 IPs are in operation.

According to the International Investment Research Institute, with the current average investment cost to develop one hectare of IP land being about $600,000, the need for investment capital to develop the infrastructure of IPs towards 2030 is estimated at $72 billion.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, investment from Taiwan in Vietnam surged in 2023, reaching $2.2 billion, a four-fold increase from the previous year. The growth places Taiwan as the fourth-largest foreign investor in Vietnam, while Taiwan has become Vietnam’s fifth-largest trading partner.