Binh Phuoc Economic Zones, Industrial Parks Attractive Investment Destinations

Binh Phuoc province lies in the southern key economic zone, bordered by strongly industrially developed Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces, and acts as a gateway between the Southeast region with the Central Highlands and neighboring Cambodia. Given its advantages in geographical location, natural conditions, synchronous economic and social infrastructure, abundant land fund and flexible investment attraction policies, Binh Phuoc is a magnet to investors.

Becamex Binh Phuoc Industrial Park, Chon Thanh district, Binh Phuoc province

Currently, of 15 industrial parks (IPs) approved by the Prime Minister, 13 IPs with a total area of 4,686 ha, have attracted investors who have leased up to 69% of the rentable area. Newly established Becamex - Binh Phuoc Industrial Park (2,450ha in Chon Thanh town) and Minh Hung - Sikico Industrial Park (655 ha in Hon Quan district) have synchronous and modern infrastructure. In addition, the 28,000-ha Hoa Lu Border Gate Economic Zone (EZ) is ready to receive investors.

In 2023, Binh Phuoc province attracted 61 projects with a total registered capital of US$830 million and VND6,500 billion (US$276 million), including 45 FDI projects with US$830 million, 5.3 times higher than the value licensed in 2022, reaching 277% of the annual plan. The province entered the Top 10 largest FDI destinations in the country for the first time. In the first seven months of 2024 alone, the province licensed 11 projects with nearly US$97 million, equal to 24.22% of the full-year plan. Up to now, the province has 416 FDI projects with US$4.33 billion. FDI projects are mainly engaged in manufacturing electronic components, supporting industrial products, apparels and wooden furniture.

In particular, FDI investors in Binh Phuoc include the world's leading brands such as C.P Group of Thailand, Hayat Holding of Turkey, Sung Ju - Samsung, Japfa and Haohua Tire of China. Notably, the province is home to very big projects. CPV FOOD Co., Ltd invested US$110 million to build a meat processing and preservation project with an annual capacity of 170,400 tons in Becamex - Binh Phuoc Industrial Park. Haohua (Vietnam) Co., Ltd invested US$500 million in a tire manufacturing factory with a yearly output of 14.4 million sets of tires in Minh Hung - Sikico Industrial Park, expected to come into operation in the fourth quarter of 2025.

In order to anticipate the investment shift trend and create development momentum, Binh Phuoc province planned to develop 8,290ha of industrial parks, 25,864ha of economic zones and 730ha of industrial complexes (ICs) by 2025 and have an investment rate of US$3-3.5 million per hectare of IPs, EZs and ICs. The occupancy rate of IPs will be 60-70%; all IPs, EZs and ICs will have centralized wastewater treatment systems that meet environmental standards. All IPs must invest in housing for workers along with service facilities and public utilities for workers in IPs. By 2030, the province will develop 11,522ha of IPs, 25,864ha of EZs and 1,279ha of ICs and their investment rate will be US$3.5-4 million per hectare.

At the same time, Binh Phuoc defines “four good foundations” (good infrastructure, good human resources, good policies and good public services) to best meet the needs of investors. The province focuses on site clearance, infrastructure investment, support for infrastructure investors to attract tenants, train human resources and investment in environmental treatment systems. In addition to applying all incentives introduced by the central government, the province has its own preferences for investment in certain areas of local strengths.

To manage and provide public services and support services in EZs and IPs and to facilitate businesses and investors, the Binh Phuoc Economic Zones Authority continues to effectively implement solutions to reform and simplify administrative procedures in a bid to form an enabling investment and business environment. The authority will speed up information technology application to provide public services, receive documents, improve the sense of responsibility and quality in consulting, guiding and handling procedures for investors. Besides, the agency will increase investment in transport infrastructure linked to the southern key economic zone and the Central Highlands to reduce time and cost of commodity transportation. It will reform investment promotion, catch new waves of quality investment, develop investment promotion plans with many rich and diverse forms in all sectors and fields interested by the province, prioritize secondary investors with strong financial capacity and advanced eco-friendly technology, and actively coordinate with IP infrastructure investors to improve the investment promotion performance.

By Duy Anh, Vietnam Business Forum