Vietnam encourages more investment in northern central region

Vietnamese government will further improve the investment environment and offer favorable policy and financial support to attract more investment in northern central region, said Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc during an investment promotion conference held in north central Nghe An province on Monday. Addressing the meeting, Phuc said the event would provide a good opportunity for domestic and foreign investors to explore investment potential in northern central region. He hoped that the northern central provinces would continue to tap the inherent potential to improve capital efficiency and the investment environment for the investors. Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Dang Huy Dong said the region had advantages in human resources, strategic location and natural resources including mineral, agriculture, forestry and fishery. However, the foreign investment in the region has been uneven so far, with most of the capital flowing to industrial and tourism fields. The northern central region consists of six provinces, namely Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue, with a total area of more than 50,000 square kilometers and a population of 10 million. As of Sept. 26, the region had attracted 243 investment projects with registered capital of 20 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 10 percent of the country's Foreign Direct Investment.