Sumitomo-invested industrial park in northern Vietnam attracts $1 bln, seeks expansion

Thang Long Vinh Phuc, a Vinh Phuc province-based industrial park invested by Japanese keiretsu Sumitomo, is seeking to expand.

A delegation of Thang Long Industrial Park (Vinh Phuc) Corporation made the proposal at a Thursday meeting with Vinh Phuc Chairman Tran Duy Dong. The firm suggested the expansion would cover the area currently within Binh Xuyen I and Binh Xuyen II industrial parks in Yen Lac district.

The firm elaborated that the occupation rate at Thang Long Vinh Phuc Industrial Park has reached 90%, with total investment capital of $1 billion and employment of 10,000 people. The enlargement can help push foreign direct investment (FDI) into the province, it added.

Backing the proposal, Dong asked relevant agencies to cooperate with the industrial park to proceed with the expansion. He also lauded the key role of Sumitomo and Japanese investors in the socioeconomic growth of Vinh Phuc.

So far, Sumitomo-invested industrial parks in Vietnam, including Thang Long in Hanoi, Thang Long II in the neighboring province of Hung Yen, and Thang Long Vinh Phuc in Vinh Phuc province, have attracted investments of $6 billion, creating 90,000 jobs.

In July, Sumitomo Corporation said it plans to expand the Thang Long II Industrial Park in Hung Yen province by 391.7 hectares in its fourth phase. As of June 2024, the facility was employing 27,000 people. With the expansion, this can increase to 40,000 by March 2027 (end of third phase) and 100,000 later, it estimated.

In August 2023, Sumitomo noted it considers building a 300-hectare industrial park in Nam Dinh province, also in northern Vietnam.

In June 2023, Sumitomo signed a memorandum of understanding to invest $400 million in developing an industrial park in the central province of Thanh Hoa. In June 2024, a 1-to-2000 ratio plan for the 645.2-hectare industrial park project was approved by local authorities.