The People’s Committee of the southern Binh Duong province on August 27 held a ceremony to grant licences to 23 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects and two domestic ones, with total capital worth nearly 220 million USD.

Among the projects, 12 are invested by Japanese businesses.

Several projects with large investment capital include a new paper packaging plant of Japan’s Tomuku company valued at 47.6 million USD and Amway Vietnam’s 21.1 million USD investment for a functional food factory.

By August 15, the province attracted a total of 2,174 FDI projects with aggregate capital of over 18 billion USD. Many large corporations are interested in Binh Duong and want to invest in real estate and services rather than industrial manufacturing.

Binh Duong People’s Committee Chairman Le Thanh Cung said the province plans to call for investment in hi-tech industries and support industries serving garment and textile, footwear and woodwork, as well as in services such as education, health care, finance and banking.

A host of measures is being implemented to attract investment, including favourable infrastructure and investing environment, Cung said, adding that the province is streamlining administrative procedure and quickly deal with arising difficulties to facilitate businesses’ operations.

Binh Duong also focuses on developing social housing for workers and people on low income, he added.-VNA