Many foreign direct investment (FDI) investors choose to partner with factory construction companies in Thanh Hoa due to the province’s vast economic potential, including its strategic geographical location, abundant mineral resources, skilled labor force, and attractive FDI incentives.
FDI attraction in Thanh Hoa
In the first 6 months of 2024, Thanh Hoa attracted 12 FDI projects, marking a 78.8% increase compared to the same period last year. The total registered capital reached USD 177.5 million, a 35.1% rise year-over-year. Of these projects, ten are in the industrial and handicraft sectors, while two are in trade and services. As of now, the province has 161 active FDI projects with a total registered investment capital of USD 14.65 billion, making Thanh Hoa the leading FDI destination in the North Central region and ranking eighth nationwide. Alongside thousands of successfully operating domestic investment projects, these figures underscore the attractiveness and effectiveness of the province’s investment promotion efforts.
Thanh Hoa’s unique economic potential attracts investors for factory construction
Strategic geographical location
Thanh Hoa is the fifth-largest province in Vietnam, strategically positioned as a transit point between Northern and Southern Vietnam. It borders Hoa Binh, Ninh Binh, and Son La to the north, Nghe An to the south, Hua Phan (Laos) to the west, and the Pacific Ocean to the east. This strategic location facilitates commercial trade with key economic zones in Northern and Central Vietnam, as well as international connections through the Na Meo international border gate with Laos and the Nghi Son seaport, enabling the transport of goods and materials to numerous countries worldwide.
Diverse transportation network
Thanh Hoa has a modern and diverse transportation system, encompassing all four major modes of transportation: road, rail, waterway, and air.
- Road: Thanh Hoa is located along several of Vietnam’s key national highways, including National Route 1A, Route 10, Route 15A, Route 47, Route 217, the North-South Expressway, and the Ho Chi Minh Road. These routes provide convenient connections to Vietnam’s key economic regions.
- Rail: The North-South railway line passes through Thanh Hoa, with ten stations located in the province, facilitating easy travel for residents.
- Waterway: Thanh Hoa has a coastline stretching 102 km, featuring the deep-water port of Nghi Son, which can accommodate vessels of up to 100,000 tons. This opens up significant opportunities for industrial activities and import-export operations.
- Air: Tho Xuan Airport connects Thanh Hoa with international markets such as Thailand, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea.
Nghi Son Seaport – Thanh Hoa
Abundant mineral resources in Thanh Hoa – Potential for factory construction
Thanh Hoa is rich in mineral resources, with large amounts of granite, marble, limestone, and clay (for cement production). These resources not only meet the raw material needs of the cement and construction materials industries but also support the agro-forestry-fishery processing industries and other industries linked to the deep-water port, forming a sustainable industrial value chain.
Notably, Thanh Hoa is the only province in Vietnam with a chromite mine, holding reserves of 22-25 million tons—the largest in Southeast Asia. Chromite, an oxide mineral of chromium (Cr), is a crucial raw material for producing corrosion-resistant steel and refractory materials. This valuable mineral resource has attracted the attention of many large manufacturing and metallurgical enterprises worldwide, encouraging them to establish factories in Thanh Hoa.
Skilled workforce
Thanh Hoa has a large labor force, with a population of 3.64 million people, of which more than 2.6 million are of working age. The rate of trained workers in Thanh Hoa accounts for nearly 73% of the total workforce, showing high-quality human resources. In addition, the province has 05 universities, 11 colleges, and 80 vocational training institutions, annually training about 11,000 highly skilled workers, meeting the needs of labor-intensive industries such as textiles, footwear, and high-tech industries.
High-quality human resources are ready to supply to manufacturing factories in Thanh Hoa.
Special incentives to attract FDI enterprises to build factories in Thanh Hoa
Thanh Hoa is currently applying special incentive policies to attract foreign investment, helping FDI investors reduce investment costs and enhance production efficiency:
- Support 100% fee of administrative procedure delivery
- Digital signature cost support: Enterprises receive up to VND 1.2 million per digital signature in their first year of operation.
- Free promotion on the province’s online website: Free promotion of business products on the province’s online portal website.
- Support for digital transformation consulting costs: Support up to 50% of the consulting contract value or 50% of the cost of renting or purchasing digital transformation solutions according to regulations.
- Support for land leveling and infrastructure construction costs: Up to VND 2 billion/project
- Support for labor attraction costs: Up to VND 2 billion/project according to regulations.
Thanh Hoa’s Industrial Development Strategy
To utilize its potential and leverage existing advantages, Thanh Hoa is focusing on attracting FDI into key sectors such as processing and manufacturing industries, semiconductor chip production, and automotive parts manufacturing. The province aims to attract $30 billion in FDI during the 2021-2025 period and is targeting investment from 3 to 6 of the world’s leading technology companies.
Thanh Hoa is prioritizing the development of specific industries such as processing and manufacturing, automotive parts production, etc.
According to the plan, by 2030, with a vision to 2050, the province will have two economic zones, 19 industrial parks, and 126 industrial clusters, promising to become a major industrial hub of the country, attracting many FDI investors to build factories in Thanh Hoa. With these directions, Thanh Hoa not only increases its appeal to investors but also creates sustainable development opportunities for the provincial economy.
See more: Vietnam develops specialized policies for processing and manufacturing industries
List of industrial parks in Thanh Hoa – updated 2024
Industrial parks outside Nghi Son Economic Zone
- Bim Son Industrial Park
- Area: 524.29 hectares
- Location: Bim Son Town
- Occupancy Rate: 66%
- Dinh Huong – Tay Bac Ga Industrial Park
- Area: 200.11 hectares
- Location: Thanh Hoa City
- Occupancy Rate: 100%
- Le Mon Industrial Park
- Area: 87.61 hectares
- Location: Thanh Hoa City
- Occupancy Rate: 100%
- Lam Son – Sao Vang Industrial Park
- Area: 537 hectares
- Location: Tho Xuan and Trieu Son Districts
- Occupancy Rate: 1.7%
Industrial parks in Nghi Son Economic Zone
As of 2023, the average occupancy rate of industrial parks in Nghi Son Economic Zone is 33.1%, indicating that Thanh Hoa still has a substantial amount of industrial land available, ready for investors to build factories.
- Industrial Park No. 1
- Area: 67 hectares
- Location: Nghi Son Town
- Industrial Park No. 3
- Area: 247 hectares
- Location: Nghi Son Town
- Metallurgy Industrial Park
- Area: 480.4 hectares
- Location: Nghi Son Town
- Dong Vang Industrial Park
- Area: 491.9 hectares
- Location: Nghi Son Town
See more: Supporting industry development: Targeting 70% domestic production by 2030
See more: Latest tax incentive policies for FDI enterprises in Vietnam