Billion-dollar FDI highlights of 2015 Vietnam set a record in attracting foreign direct investment capital in 2015, with a total sum of newly registered and expanded capital of $22.75 billion. Among these, there are four billion-dollar projects exceptionally worthy of attention. illustration photo The first billion-dollar project is the $3 billion additional investment to Samsung Display Vietnam located in northern province of Bac Ninh. On August 6, the Bac Ninh People’s Committee granted the investment certificate for the expansion of Samsung Display Vietnam Co. Ltd, the Vietnamese unit of Samsung Display Co. Ltd manufacturing and assembling next-generation high-definition screens. In July 2014, Samsung Display Vietnam held the plant’s ground-breaking ceremony, celebrating an initial registered investment of $1 billion. After the capital addition, the total investment capital of the plant increased to $4 billion. Once starting operation, the factory will have the production capacity of 48 million units per year and create approximately 20,000 jobs. Furthermore, the factory’s revenue is expected to reach $1.5 billion in its first year of operation. The second is Duyen Hai 2 thermal power plant in the southern province of Tra Vinh, boasting the total investment capital of $1.4 billion. On December 29, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Malaysian Teknik Janakuasa Group signed the build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract to build the power plant. The project was licensed in September 2015, however, negotiations over development have been going since 2009. The developer is currently finalising the financial arrangements to start the construction on schedule, in the second quarter of 2016. The plant, which is expected to go on stream before 2020, will be one of the four thermal power plants in Duyen Hai Power Centre. The remaining plants invested by Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN) with the total investment capital of $6 billion are Duyen Hai 1, Duyen Hai 3, and Duyen Hai 3 extension.  Once completed, the power centre will contribute to the national power grid an additional capacity of 30 billion kWh annually, playing an important role in ensure the southern region’s energy security in the 2015-2020 period and subsequent years. The third is the $1.2 billion Empire City Complex invested by Empire City Limited Liability Company The complex will consist of an 86-storey building, a shopping mall, a five-star hotel, and an office building for lease. Licensed in June, the 14.5-hectare complex is located at the core of Thu Thiem New Urban Area in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 2, along Mai Chi Tho street and the Saigon River. The project will be constructed in four phases and is expected to complete by 2020. The last is the $1 billion packaging factory in the southern province of Binh Duong, invested by Taiwanese industrial paper producer Cheng Loong The plant is going to be built on an 80-hectare plot in Ascendas Protrade Singapore Tech Park and will have the capacity of one million tonnes of paper per year.  The factory’s construction will be developed in five phases with the first phase expected to come into operation in January 2018.  By Ha Vy, VIR