A part of the Việt Nam-Singapore Industrial Park in Nghệ An Province. — Photo vneconomy.vn

The central province of Nghệ An attracted US$725.4 million worth of foreign investment in the first half of this year, ranking eighth among the 63 provinces in the country, the provincial People's Committee has said.

During the period, the province licensed eight new foreign-invested projects with a total registered value of $613.8 million.

Among new foreign-invested projects was the first phase of Thọ Lộc Industrial Zone (IZ), valued at $164.6 million and a $100 million hi-tech project being financed by Foxconn Interconnect Technology Singapore PTE.LTD in WHA IZ.

Despite this encouraging performance, the province has yet to attract large-scale projects. Investments in its prioritised sectors such as thermal, agriculture and tourism remained modest, the committee said.

The province is implementing solutions to attract more investment with a focus on hastening the development of projects in the Southeast Economic Zone and other IZs and improving its ranking of indicators such as the provincial competitiveness index (PCI), the provincial public administration index (PAPI), and the administrative reform index (PAR INDEX).

By the end of 2023, the locality will coordinate with developers of Việt Nam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) and WHA IZ to call for investment into these zones. It also strives to attract from 100 to 120 projects with a total combined investment capital of about VNĐ32 trillion to 35 trillion in 2023, of which $500-600 million will come from foreign investors. — VNS