Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) in Ho Chi Minh City is a major highlight in terms of investment attraction, with 60 existing projects and total investment capital of about 2.22 billion USD, according to Vietnam Economic News newspaper.
Moreover, since it was established in October 2002, its export revenues have amounted to almost 6.476 billion USD, added the newspaper.
The Ministry of Science and Technology said that ground clearing works at SHTP had almost been completed and that 778.9ha of land had been withdrawn for construction of the park accounting for 97.3 percent of all 801ha.
Last year 21 domestic and 39 foreign investors visited the park to seek investment and cooperative opportunities in micro-electronics, information technology, telecommunications, precision engineering, biotechnology, and others.
The SHTP Authority issued investment certificates to six new projects with total capital of 125.9 million USD in 2013, representing a 50 percent increase on capital over 2012 despite the decline in the number of new investors.
Production revenues reached about 2.296 billion USD, including nearly 2.282 billion USD from exports, a 25.9 percent increase, and almost 1.87 billion USD, a 4.3 percent increase from last year.
Since 2002 production revenues have amounted to almost 6.533 billion USD, including nearly 6.476 billion USD in exports and 5.794 billion USD in imports, and creating 17,619 jobs.
Currently 57 businesses and research centers are operational in the SHTP. Apart from world-class high-tech groups and companies such as Intel, Jabil, Nidec, Datalogics and Microchip, the SHTP has received many domestic leading science and technology companies such as FPT, Hutech, CMC and HPT.
Many businesses and research centers in the park have achieved notable success in science and technology research such as Nanogen, which made public its new drug which treats liver cancer in an effective, short and cheap manner. The invention received an exclusive patent in the US and is now under the process of franchise negotiations with multinational companies.
The US-Vietnam Photonics Company Limited (UVP) has invented FRED chips and shipped its first batch, which was also Vietnam’s first semiconducting products, to Hong Kong-China in September 2013.
SHTP Authority Head Le Hoai Quoc said that the authority would continue investment promotion activities this year. Potential investors would come from the US, Japan and the Republic of Korea, who accounted for a vast majority of business visitors to the SHTP last year.
In addition, the SHTP Authority would continue creating a favorable environment, regarding infrastructure and a good legal corridor, for research & development (R&D) and venture investment, while at the same time improving the quality of human resources.
Employees who hold university and post-graduate degrees accounted for only more than 10 percent of the total workforce in the SHTP in 2010. However, the percentage soared to 30 percent in 2013 providing an outstanding advantage for the park.
Following its development directions until 2020, the SHTP is expected to become a major hi-tech center in Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam providing science and technology invention opportunities. In doing so, the park would help Ho Chi Minh City keep up with other big cities in Southeast Asia.
Source: VNA