The northern province of Hai Duong has set a target to attract US$400 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2023, according to Vice Director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment Nguyen Duy Hung.

The locality licensed five new FDI projects worth $15.8 million in January. Meanwhile, $5.6 million was added to three existing projects.

Hung said that the locality will speed up work on the province's master plan in the 2021-30 period, with a vision of 2050 as a basis for building priority criteria to attract investment projects, especially the planning of a key industrial zone for large-scale, modern and environmentally friendly investment projects.

It will focus on maximising resources to develop synchronous and modern socio-economic infrastructure networks and accelerate the construction of infrastructure of industrial parks such as Dai An, Tan Truong, Phuc Dien, An Phat 1, Kim Thanh, and Gia Loc, and other industrial zones and clusters in the area.

The locality will renew investment promotion methods with priority given to investors in the Republic of Korea (RoK), Japan, the US and Europe; speed up administrative reform; and optimise communication channels to approach investors, Hung added.

Last year, as many as $368.1 million in FDI was poured into Hai Duong, up 15.3 per cent year-on-year.

The locality is home to 498 foreign-invested projects with a total investment of over $9.2 billion from 26 countries and territories. The projects have created jobs for over 220,000 direct workers and thousands of indirect labourers. — VNS