On the afternoon of April 14, Hai Phong Department of Foreign Affairs collaborated with Department of Local Diplomacy Facilitation (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and Hong Kong Business Association Viet Nam (HKBAV) to organize the program “Connecting Hai Phong – Hong Kong” to promote and introduce investment environment, strong points and potentials of Hai Phong City as well as to facilitating exchanges and connections between Vietnamese businesses and HKBAV’s businesses. Attending the event were Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc; Vice Chairman of Hai Phong People’s Committee Le Khac Nam, leaders of relevant departments and agencies: Foreign Affairs, Planning and Investment, Trade and Industry, Hai Phong Economic Zone Authority; Mr. Michael Chiu, Chairman of HKBAV and other leaders of the HKBAV. The program “Connecting Hai Phong – Hong Kong” attracted about 150 delegates, who were representatives of Vietnamese and HKBAV’s businesses.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc expressed his pleasure to attend the program “Connecting Hai Phong – Hong Kong” and evaluated Hai Phong as an outstanding investment attraction destination in the Northern coastal region and one of the localities with the most favorable advantages in cooperation with Hong Kong thanks to its convenient geographic location, easy to connect to the seaports, facilities are available for establishment of production, logistics development and service industry. Meanwhile, Hong Kong (China) is a strategic location, has experience in manufacturing development, providing services and technology, and is a financial and commercial hub in the region. Hence, the association and cooperation between Hong Kong (China) and Viet Nam in general, and Hai Phong in particular will bring practical and effective results, meeting expectations of both sides.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc shared that “economic diplomacy is the basic but central mission of Viet Nam’s diplomacy, an important driving force for rapid and sustainable development of the country”, “taking people, localities, and enterprises centered to serve”. Therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been implementing new measures to optimize the connection role to bring foreign partners closer to localities and enterprises of Viet Nam. The event “Connecting Hai Phong – Hongkong” is a testament for such a connection effort.
In his welcome remark, Vice Chairman of the City People’s Committee Le Khac Nam affirmed that Hai Phong is one of localities getting the highest growth rate in the country, even after experiencing COVID-19 pandemic, the city remained at two-digit growth. Hai Phong is also one of the bright spot in calling for FDI investment and the city always keeps its leading position in the country. The city has advantages in geographical location, synchronous infrastructure, convenient transportation for regional, trans-regional, and global links; investment and business environment are convenient with incentive policies for enterprises, etc. That has contributed to making Hai Phong an attractive destination for large groups, domestic and foreign enterprises including investors from Hong Kong (China).
By March 2023, there are 860 valid projects in the city with a total registered capital of 24.6 billion USD, of which 129 projects invested by Hong Kong (China) investors with a total registered capital of more than 2.8 billion USD. Just inside industrial parks and economic zone, there are 73 projects with a total registered capital of 2.55 billion USD, accounting for 12% of the total FDI projects in the industrial parks and economic zone. Among 42 countries and territories investing in the city, Hong Kong (China) ranks fourth in the number of the projects and third in registered capital. Those projects mainly focused on the fields such as electronics, mechanics, garment and textiles, footwear, logistics, construction, basic infrastructure business, and other. Export and import turnover between Hai Phong and Hong Kong (China) in the year of 2022 reached over 5.1 billion USD.
With strength and potentials available, along with the city’s orientation to build 15 new industrial parks, Hai Phong has a lot of room to call for investment in the direction of development in three poles: high-tech industry, seaports – logistics, tourism – trade. Hai Phong City is welcoming and commits to offer the most favorable conditions for investors of Hong Kong (China) to come to research, to get to know about the investment environment, seek cooperation in investment and development in Hai Phong.
Giving a speech at the opening session, Mr. Michael Chiu, Chairman of Hongkong Business Association Viet Nam expressed his thanks to Hai Phong Department of Foreign Affairs for inviting the HKBAV to co-host the event connecting Vietnamese enterprises with HKBAV’s enterprises. In addition, Mr. Michael Chiu thanked the Department of Local Diplomacy Facilitation (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) for trusting, cooperating and offering the opportunity for HKBAV to participate in the event for the benefits of enterprises. Based on cooperation between the HKBAV and Department of Local Diplomacy Facilitation (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Hai Phong Department of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Michael Chiu expected to witness a stronger development in cooperation between the HKBAV and Vietnam’s partners in the coming time.
In the framework of the program “Connecting Hai Phong – Hong Kong”, Mr. David Jackson, Executive Director of Collier Viet Nam and Ms. Nguyen Phuong Thao, Director of GAW NPI, representing of the two enterprises which have invested in Viet Nam and Hai Phong, shared overview information on socio-economic development, foreign direct investment, incentive policies on tax, labor force, infrastructure, etc. and particularly information on real estate market of Hai Phong and its future development prospects. Director of GAW NPI introduced Vietnam and HKBAV’s enterprises on GAW NPI’s project in Nam Dinh Vu industrial park as well as explained of why GAW NPI chose Hai Phong as an investment destination. Accordingly, with a strategic location in Red River Delta area, close to China’s border, the biggest port city in the North of Viet Nam, the third biggest city after Ho Chi Minh City and Ha Noi, one of important industrial hubs of Viet Nam, the only city in the North of Viet Nam converging all 5 types of essential transportation; supportive policies of Hai Phong to investors… are the basis for the GAW NPI to decide to invest in Hai Phong.
Also, during the event, within the moderation of Mr. Nguyen Dong Trung, Deputy Director of Department of Local Diplomacy Facilitation (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), leaders of departments/agencies: Hai Phong Economic Zone Authority, Planning and Investment, HKBAV, speakers and enterprises discussed enthusiastically topics on industries and sectors which Hai Phong has prioritized to called for investment; criteria foreign investors should notice when investing in Hai Phong; policies to create a breakthrough investment to industrial parks and economic zone authority in Hai Phong; procedure, process, and time issuing investment certificate to FDI projects, etc. Those are articles in enterprises’ interests. Speakers also shared opinions, perspectives under investors’ viewpoints for the city’s reference and suggested attractive and effective policies in the coming time.
On this occasion, under the witness of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc and Vice Chairman of the City People’s Committee Le Khac Nam, Department of Local Diplomacy Facilitation (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and Hai Phong Department of Foreign Affairs signed Minute of Understanding with HKBAV aims to promote investment, trade and business between enterprises of the both sides.
At the closing speech, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Bich Dung, Director of Hai Phong Department of Foreign Affairs thanked Department of Local Diplomacy Facilitation (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), HKBAV for their efforts to successful organize the event, facilitating enterprises to meet, share, and seek opportunities for further cooperation. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Bich Dung also expected that Hai Phong Department of Foreign Affairs and HKBAV would continue to collaborate to carry out similar activities to bring more opportunities for exchanges, interaction, and linkage for common development of enterprises of both Hai Phong and Hong Kong (China)./.