Thai industrial developer Amata ramps up operations in Vietnam

Amata, Thailand’s biggest industrial developer, is set to expand in fast-growing Vietnam as part of its modified plans for 2023.

The regional major’s subsidiary Amata Vietnam, founded in 1994 as the first foreign industrial developer in the country, is building its fourth industrial park in Vietnam to expand its total industrial land to 2,347 hectares.

The 714-hectare Amata Song Khoai IP in the northern province of Quang Ninh will cost about $150 million to build. It is scheduled to start operations in 2026.

The three operational IPs are Amata City Bien Hoa (513 hectares) and Amata City Long Thanh (410 hectares), both in Dong Nai province near Ho Chi Minh City, and Amata City Halong (710 hectares) in Quang Ninh. The three parks house more than 200 factories.

The Thai developer has set aside some five billion baht ($144 million) of capital expenditure for 2023, according to a Nikkei Asia news report. Of this, more than 50% is earmarked for industrial development in Vietnam, 20% for projects in Thailand, and the remainder for a new undertaking in Laos.

"For this year, we are still focused on Vietnam, while Laos is emerging as a new and interesting country that we entered last year,” Viboon Kromadit, Amata's chief marketing officer, told the Japanese newspaper.

Vietnam has been cementing its rising status as a manufacturing hub for multinationals and has attracted investors from all over the world. They include Korean tech giants Samsung and LG, American chip giant Intel, and Apple suppliers like Foxconn, Compal Electronics, Quanta Computer, Pegatron, Wistron, Luxshare Precision, Goertek, and BYD.

Quang Ninh, on the Vietnam-China border, is part of the Hanoi-Hai Phong-Quang Ninh development triangle, with Hai Phong being northern Vietnam’s largest logistics hub. Quang Ninh is emerging as a new destination for foreign direct investment in the north.

Adjacent to northern Vietnam is the Southern Economic Corridor of China, with prominent cities and regions like Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Fujian, and Guangdong. This economic region serves as the base for giants in manufacturing, biochemistry, commerce, and electronic technology. According to estimates made by real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, the region accounted for more than 30% of China's total GDP in 2021, playing an extremely important role in attracting capital and economic development.

Additionally, Vietnam's northern region has direct road, sea, and rail routes connecting to Shenzhen, known as China's Silicon Valley, creating favorable conditions for businesses wishing to expand and diversify production in the north.