South Korea-invested ITM Semiconductor Viet Nam in Viet Nam-Singapore Industrial Park in Bac Ninh. — VNA/VNS Photo Thai Hung

The northern province of Bac Ninh licensed 119 new foreign-invested projects worth US$334.8 million in the first eight months of 2020, according to the provincial Statistics Office.

To attract both foreign and domestic investors, Bac Ninh focused on improving its business climate by prioritising projects which use less land, less labour, have high investment rate, significant budget collection and high technology, the Viet Nam Government Portal (VGP) reported.

The province also allowed 1,602 existing foreign-invested projects to increase their capital by $19.64 billion.

Of these, 1,331 projects are in the manufacturing and processing industry, making up 83 per cent, including 1,205 projects from South Korea, 112 projects from China and 86 projects from Japan.

Alongside the preferential mechanisms and policies of the State, the province also proposed initiatives to encourage investment in industrial zones and boost on-the-spot investment promotion by creating images from big foreign businesses such as Samsung, Canon and Foxconn.

In the last 20 years, Bac Ninh Province in the Northern Key Economic Zone has grown from an agricultural community to a major industrial centre with the second-highest per capita income and one of the highest economic growth rates in the country. — VNS