The southern province of Dong Nai has carried out a number of promotion programmes to attract foreign investment, receiving special interest from Japan in the local business environment.

According to the provincial Department of Planning and Investment, Japan is currently running 183 investment projects worth nearly 3.4 billion USD in Dong Nai, ranking third after Taiwan ( China ) and the Republic of Korea , and accounting for 15.7 percent of the total foreign direct investment (FDI).

Director of the department Bo Ngoc Thu said the capital inflow from Japan has comprised the majority of FDI in the support and hi-tech industries in the province in recent years, citing up to 95 percent of Japanese investment projects focusing on the two sectors since 2012.

Between 2011 and 2014, the province attracted 102 new projects, accounting for 55.7 percent of the total Japanese investment projects and 37.4 percent of the total FDI projects nationwide. Thus far this year, it has attracted nearly 1,500 FDI projects from 35 nations and territories worldwide with a combined capital of 25.5 billion USD.

The substantial increase was attributed to provincial efforts to improve industrial park and transportation system infrastructure.

Additionally, the province has concentrated on green production by increasing the proportion of energy-saving and environmentally-friendly hi-tech and support industries since 2012.

Local authorities have also devoted attention to reforming administrative formalities, taxes, and customs to improve the investment climate and focus it towards the one-stop-shop model at the district level, according to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Minh Phuc.

Jingi Osamu, Chairman of the Daikan Limited Company in Bien Hoa city, said the local favourable business environment led his company to plan for future operation expansions.

Dong Nai is now home to 80 training facilities capable of providing tens of thousands of skilled labourers annually. The province has also worked to ensure social order and security for businesses and design specific regulations and incentives to facilitate business operations.-VNA