The Vietnam – ASEAN Private Economic Development and Cooperation Center (VAPEDCO) is drawing up an investment promotion plan for Central Vietnam, with Ha Tinh identified as a key locality. From September 2026 to March 2027, the Center aims to strengthen connections with foreign investors, prioritizing post-steel industries, seaports – logistics and sectors capable of creating linkages with domestic businesses.
These directions were set out at a working session between Mr. Pham Ho Bac, Director of VAPEDCO, and Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuong, Head of VAPEDCO’s Representative Office for Central Vietnam, to agree on a plan for network development, investment promotion and business support in the region. Under the plan being developed, VAPEDCO expects to mobilize more than 120 staff to survey the area, build project databases, seek partners and support business matchmaking. The Center is also considering whether to base its regional coordination hub in the Vung Ang area or in Vinh, depending on connectivity with the transport network, seaports, airports and the economic corridor toward Laos and Thailand.
From promoting potential to meeting investors’ needs
A notable feature of this plan is that promotion activities will go beyond introducing local potential to approaching investors sector by sector. VAPEDCO plans to build databases on planning, infrastructure, projects and businesses; expand connections with associations, chambers of commerce and ASEAN business communities; and organize B2B matchmaking, import-export promotion, technology transfer, and legal and market consulting. With this approach, the task is no longer to advertise what a locality has, but to prepare the information investors need to make decisions – from project location, land availability, infrastructure and procedures to human resources and the potential to form local supply chains.
Why Ha Tinh
Ha Tinh was chosen as one of the key localities because of the industrial foundation already established in the Vung Ang Economic Zone. As of August 2026, the province had 71 FDI projects with total registered capital of more than USD 16.5 billion, most of it concentrated in economic zones and industrial parks. This level of capital gives Ha Tinh a significant place on the FDI map of Central Vietnam, but the challenge now is not only to keep increasing registered capital but also to extend the spillover effects of large projects to the local economy.
Building on the metallurgical industry and the production ecosystem at Vung Ang, VAPEDCO aims to seek satellite FDI projects in post-steel industries, precision mechanical engineering, component and equipment manufacturing, and certain assembly industries using new technologies. This direction is well founded: Ha Tinh already has large-scale industrial projects, but its network of supporting businesses, suppliers and technical services still has plenty of room to grow. If suitable projects can be attracted, new capital will not only add production capacity but can also generate more orders for local businesses, boost logistics, mechanical engineering, transport and warehousing services, and gradually build a deeper supply chain around Vung Ang.
Seaports and logistics must go hand in hand with industry
Another direction set by VAPEDCO is to approach international shipping lines and port operators, including partners from Singapore and Denmark, to explore opportunities to invest in and operate container services in the Son Duong – Vung Ang area. Ha Tinh has the advantage of a deep-water port and a location connected to the economic corridor toward Laos and Northeast Thailand. However, turning that advantage into logistics competitiveness depends on cargo volumes, port hinterland connections, transport capacity and the ability to maintain stable shipping routes. Port development therefore needs to go hand in hand with industrial expansion; only when cargo volumes are large enough can ports and logistics act as an independent growth driver.
For the Thach Khe area, any study of new investment opportunities must take account of the changed legal context. On 2 July 2026, the former Thach Khe iron ore mining and processing project was terminated and its investment certificate revoked. As a result, any related proposal in the coming period can only be considered on the basis of a new plan that complies with planning regulations and is approved by the competent authorities. This also shows that investment promotion can only be substantive when each opportunity is clarified in terms of legal status, location, infrastructure and implementation conditions before it is presented to investors.
Bringing local businesses into the supply chain
Besides attracting foreign capital, VAPEDCO’s plan devotes a significant part to supporting the domestic private sector. Under the proposal put forward by Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuong, the Central Vietnam Representative Office will promote business matchmaking, support green agricultural products, promote trade with Laos and Thailand, and study economic linkage models in the Huong Son area and the Cau Treo International Border Gate Economic Zone. The greater value of these activities, however, lies in their ability to bring local businesses into the production and trade chains forming around FDI projects. A locality may attract many large projects, but if domestic businesses remain outside the supply chain, the spillover effects on technology, jobs and production capacity will be limited.
Measuring results by concrete projects
Under the plan, VAPEDCO aims to connect up to three foreign investors with Ha Tinh during the six months from September 2026 to March 2027. This is an indicative target, and the program’s effectiveness will depend on how concrete each result is: whether investors come to survey the site, sign cooperation minutes, study projects, submit applications or move toward investment decisions. Likewise, mobilizing more than 120 staff only reflects the scale of resources involved; the more important measures are the number of standardized investment opportunities, partners with genuine needs, projects entering the approval process, and the level of participation by local businesses.
As localities in Central Vietnam compete ever more strongly for new capital, advantages in location, seaports or land are no longer enough to stand out unless they are turned into clear, implementable projects. For Ha Tinh, the notable opportunity lies in building additional layers of industry and services behind the large projects at Vung Ang, thereby strengthening links between FDI and the domestic private sector. This will also be the test of VAPEDCO’s promotion plan: not just how many investors it can connect, but, more importantly, how many investment opportunities it can move from the negotiating table to concrete projects that create real value for the locality.
Source: https://daututhuongmai.vn/thong-tin-tuyen-truyen-quang-cao/vapedco-chon-ha-tinh-lam-trong-diem-xuc-tien-fdi-tai-mien-trung/
