The first industrial zone in Binh Phuoc province was founded in 2003 while there are now eight industrial zones on a total area of 5,025 hectares in the province. Investors are being encouraged to set up shop while infrastructure is being built. In the IZs, 66 businesses have built facilities, 15 of these being Vietnamese projects with a combined registered capital of VND717 billion and 51 being FDI (foreign direct investment) projects with a total registered capital of US$270 million. In 2008 alone, the IZs attracted 21 projects, seven being Vietnamese projects with a total of VND391 billion in capital and 14 FDI projects with capital totaling US$144 million. IZ-based businesses currently employ 1,210 people and last year made a total of VND1.107 trillion worth of goods paying VND11 billion in taxes to the state budget.

Ha Van Thanh, the head of the Binh Phuoc province industrial zones authority, said that although these achievements are modest they are encouraging in the context of the current global financial crisis and economic downturn. Investment in provincial IZs in 2008 is less than it was in 2007 in terms of project numbers but higher in terms of registered and invested capital. IZ-based investment projects employ a large number of people (1,210), provide tax payment to the State (VND 11 billion) and transform the economic structure of the province towards industry and services, Thanh said.

Thanh added that investors can pay a low cost to use rubber cultivated land in Binh Phuoc and the province has effective site clearance policies and a plentiful workforce, all of which help the province attract investment to its industrial zones. After the Ho Chi Minh Highway (Tay Nguyen/Central Highlands to the Mekong Delta) and the trans-Asia railway (passing through Binh Phuoc) are completed, the province will be conveniently located with relation to the Central Highlands, the Mekong Delta and countries throughout Asia.

In the overall plan for the Ho Chi Minh City region, the Chon Thanh urban area of Binh Phuoc is defined as being a satellite urban area of Ho Chi Minh City. This should help attract investors to IZs in the southern economic zone in general and Binh Phuoc province in particular.

Binh Phuoc wants to attract investors to its IZs and develop these IZs on a sustainable basis. The province will encourage the entrance of businesses that will use modern technology and not cause environmental pollution. To make it as easy as possible for investors, provincial authorities will work with the heads of the provincial industrial zones to make administrative procedures as simple as possible, find ways to train and provide workers for businesses, build accommodation for IZ workers and improve IZ worker living conditions in general.