Thai Amata Corporation has announced an investment project capitalized at $800 million in Dong Nai province, under which 40 percent of area will be reserved for an IZ, while the remaining 60 percent will be for apartments and trade development. The foreign investor has revealed that it is seeking another license to build another IZ in the north which is expected to be even larger than the project in Dong Nai.In HCM City, one more IZ, with the total area of 300 hectares, joined the market in the second quarter. Under the city development plan, 2,600 hectares of IZs would be put into operation by 2030, thus increasing the total IZ area in the city by 66 percent. These include the third phase of Le Minh Xuan IZ, Tay Bac Cu Chi, Hiep Phuoc and Vinh Loc 1 IZs.The District 9 People’s Committee has urged state agencies to speed up the construction of the hi-tech park in Long Phuoc Ward capitalized at VND4 trillion, because the existing hi-tech park is nearly fully occupied.In the central region, investors have also poured money into beachfront resorts and IZs. Da Nang City, for example, plans to have four new IZs by 2020 with the total area of 1,600 hectares. In Quang Ngai province, Dong Dinh IZ has become operational recently.

Northern investors are also busy with IZ development projects. Viglacera has kicked off the second phase of the Yen Phong IZ in Bac Ninh province. Many big investors, including Samsung, Orion, Flexcom, Dongsin, Mobase, Dawon Vina and Hansol are present in Bac Ninh, which means higher demand for premises in IZs and bigger business opportunities for IZ developers.Analysts commented that the IZ development has been supported by favorite conditions. The foreign direct investment (FDI) has seen a strong recovery since 2015. In the first seven months of the year, the total FDI registered capital reached $13 billion, a sharp increase of 46 percent compared with last year.This is an encouraging result if noting that some other regional countries, such as Thailand, see FDI capital decreasing dramatically by 90 percent. The strong FDI flow has helped real estate developers prosper. The Kinh Bac Urban Area Development Corporation (KBC), for example, reported a sharp increase of 72 percent in the first six months of the year to VND1.11 trillion and a 67 percent increase in net profit to VND419 billion. However, analysts have warned that investors would face high risks with IZ projects because of the current low occupancy rate, about 40 percent.