Over 60 FDI enterprises are operating in Ben Tre Province

A seminar on investment, trade and tourism promotion of Ben Tre Province was held in the locality on January 3. The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the Federal Republic of Germany, Vu Quang Minh, and a delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the seminar, business representatives of Ben Tre Province and ambassadors from other countries discussed the development potentials, investment opportunities and foreign markets of the province's key products, including coconut, seafood and fruits.

Addressing at the event, Chairman of Ben Tre Provincial People's Committee, Tran Ngoc Tam said that the province now has 61 FDI projects in operation with a total registered capital of US$1.62 billion, in addition to about 30 foreign non-governmental aid programs and projects with a total aid value of nearly $4 million.

“Besides, four ODA programs and projects with a total investment of about $150 million are being implemented in Ben Tre Province. The province also has two enterprises investing abroad with a total investment of nearly $3 million,” he added.

According to the chairman, the province has always strived to create an open business and investment environment and to become a reliable destination for investors. In the 2016-2020 period, the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) of Ben Tre always ranks in the TOP 10 nationwide.

Ben Tre has strengths in agricultural, aquatic products and fruits, in addition to a strong labor force to develop garment and footwear processing industries. Many aquatic products such as pangasius and clams, fruits and vegetables such as Siamese coconut, desiccated coconut, rambutan, have been favored by foreign markets.

Ben Tre coconut products have been present in more than 40 markets around the world. Ben Tre enterprises have been granted with many quality certifications meeting international standards such as FDA, Organic, ISO, Halal...

The province has approved 19 wind power projects, developed 4 industrial parks and industrial clusters, attracting many leading FDI enterprises, which are really impressive figures.

Tam also said that Ben Tre Province still has much potential and room for development in the coming time.

Specifically, the locality is known as "Vietnam's Coconut Land" with an area of about 75,000 hectares growing coconut with a total output of nearly 700,000 tons/year. In the near future, local coconut gardens will be coded for exportation to USA and Canada.

In terms of the commercial-urban sector, with the goal of green growth and sustainable development, at least 500 hectares of new urban area projects in Ben Tre City and districts will be implemented within the province in the period 2021-2025.

With many potentials and advantages, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Ben Tre Province hoped that the Ambassadors in other countries would become an effective bridge to connect the province with potential investors worldwide.

According to Vu Quang Minh, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the Federal Republic of Germany, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vietnamese representative missions abroad commit to accompany and support the international integration of Ben Tre Province. They would also be willing to collaborate with the province to promote investment and local products abroad and implement economic diplomatic activities and regional forums with specific partners such as Japan, South Korea, the United States, Australia, among others.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would support connecting Ben Tre Province with Vietnamese representative agencies abroad to attract FPI resources, ODA and other aids as well as investors. Particularly, the government department would check and verify the partners with whom the local enterprises intend to cooperate, he said.