The management board of the Saigon High Tech Park (SHTP) on Wednesday handed investment certificates to two new projects in the park with total pledges of nearly US$20 million.
According to the management board, the project will cost about US$9.7 million in total investment and will be developed on a total area of over one hectare in SHTP. One of the two projects is Saigon Amura Precision Industry Co. of Saigon Industry Corporation specializing in designing and manufacturing mechanical products for the firm’s subsidiaries and hi-tech investors at home and abroad.
The other scheme is a coronary artery stent plant invested by United Healthcare with total investment of roughly US$10 million.
The facility will provide products in line with American standards helping replace import products in the country. The investor also has plans to ship products of the factory overseas in the future.
In the first phase of the scheme from 2014 to 2015, the company will produce 12,000 products annually for cardiovascular illness treatment with an estimated US$5.5 million in sales per annum. In the second phase from 2015 to 2062, it will make 47,000 units a year, including blood vessel stents and other medical tools and equipment, and targets to achieve sales of about US$12.5 million yearly.
At the ceremony, the board also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the U.S.-based Illinois University regarding nanotechnology. The MOU is the foundation for the two sides to join hands in studying nanotechnology and apply the technology in energy, lighting, water, environment, electronics, medical area and safety.
At the same time, the SHTP training center also clinched a cooperation agreement with Microsoft IT Academy. As such, students of the center will be entitled to training based on Microsoft textbooks and technology and they will get certificates from Microsoft after graduating.
The park attracted 63 projects with total investment capital of US$2.22 billion after ten years of establishment, Le Hoai Quoc, director of the management board, told the tenth-birthday ceremony on Wednesday.
There have been 30 projects operational in the park so far, with total fund disbursed reaching some 40%. The disbursed rate of projects in SHTP is rather high compared to the average level of the whole country, Quoc noted.
Export revenue of hi-tech products of SHTP doubles year-on-year over the past five years.
For instance, export sales of the entire park was US$53.9 million in 2007, US$131 million in 2008, US$259 million in 2009, US$501 million in 2010 and US$1 billion in 2011. Export value of the park is forecast to hit around US$2 billion this year.
With such a strong growth, production sales of the whole hi-tech area might exceed US$5 billion in 2014, meaning its accumulated production value will reach US$3.61 billion, with US$3.57 billion in exports.
According to a report delivered at a ceremony to mark the Park’s 10th anniversary, thirty-three of the 66 investment projects at the SHTP are FDI projects with a total investment of US$1.78 billion. Twenty-nine of the projects at the Park are currently operating, earning around US$3.575 billion in export turnover and creating jobs for nearly 17,000 workers.
Investors in the Park include some of the worlds leading hi-tech corporations such as US-based Intel, Jabil from Dubai, Japan’s Nidec, and Datalogic from Italy.
Addressing the anniversary ceremony, Politburo member and Secretary of the municipal Party Committee, Le Thanh Hai, said that the hi-tech park is important infrastructure as well as a driving force of the city’s economic development.
He also asked the Parks Management Board to continue promoting, attracting and supporting investment projects, especially those in high technology.