The northern province of Bac Ninh attracted more than 1.6 billion USD in investment capital in 2013, ranking fifth after Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa and Binh Thuan provinces, and Hai Phong city.

According to the province’s management board of industrial zones, of the investments, over 1.4 billion USD was poured into FDI-funded projects.

Last year, Bac Ninh also ranked third in the number of projects with 100 newly-registered ones, following Ho Chi Minh City and the central province of Thanh Hoa.

The province has to date 459 FDI ongoing projects and businesses with a total registered capital of more than 6 billion USD, and 719 projects funded by domestic investors totalling 78.9 billion VND (3.7 million USD).

Notably, in 2013, the Samsung Electronics Vietnam Co. Ltd in the Yen Phong Industrial Zone added an extra 1 billion USD to raise the total investment capital to 2.5 billion USD, making it the world’s largest Samsung IT complex.

Bac Ninh’s industrial zones have created jobs for more than 144,000 labourers inside and outside the province.

The province earned over 23 billion USD from export activities last year, a surge of 68 percent compared with 2012’s figure.

In the coming time, it will prioritise attracting investment in high-tech and environmentally friendly industries, which create added value and help save natural resources towards sustainable development.-VNA