Korea packaging firm plans to invest $30 mln in Bac Ninh province

South Korean firm Green Packaging Solution is planning to build a $30 million factory in Vietnam's northern province of Bac Ninh, CEO Ahn Sung Hun said on Wednesday.

At a meeting with provincial authorities in Bac Ninh on Wednesday, the executive said the investment will be the firm's second factory after its first in Gumi City, Gyeongsangbuk-do province in South Korea.

The company, a provider of eco-friendly packaging materials for the electronics, cosmetics, and food sectors, plans to export its products from Bac Ninh province to South Korea, Japan, European nations, among others.

Bac Ninh Chairwoman Nguyen Huong Giang said her province would facilitate the investment. She highlighted South Korea as the biggest foreign investor in Bac Ninh with 589 projects and registered capital of $13.68 billion, or 65% of the total. South Korean projects in the province focus on mechanics, electronic components, mobile phones, and others, she added.

Bac Ninh, home to a Samsung Electronics plant, is an emerging industrial hub in northern Vietnam, together with Hanoi, Haiphong, Hai Duong, Vinh Phuc, and Thai Nguyen.

In the first quarter of this year, Bac Ninh's gross regional domestic product recorded growth of negative 11.85%, versus 7.57% in Q1/2022, according to the provincial statistics office. It attributed the results to the hardships facing the global economy, such as low growth in the U.S. and Europe, high energy prices due to the prolonged Ukraine-Russia conflict, and China's pandemic response.

From January-March, Bac Ninh approved 55 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with total registered capital of $480.6 million, up 129% and 750% year-on-year, respectively. FDI accounted for 70% of the total, the statistics office noted.