Post-merger growth scenario

The merger of Bac Kan province into Thai Nguyen marks an important turning point in the development process of the Northern Midlands and Mountains region. With a population of nearly 1.8 million people and an area of ​​over 8,375 km², Thai Nguyen is facing a special opportunity to reposition its growth model. The question is which development scenario the province will choose to complete the 2025 goals and create a foundation for double-digit growth in the next period.

Export garment production line at TNG Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company.

Merging with Bac Kan helps Thai Nguyen expand its development space, but also puts greater pressure on management. In the first half of 2025, the province's GRDP increased by 6.61%, lower than the same period last year. To achieve the 8.5% growth target for the whole year, the economic scenario requires GRDP in the last 6 months of the year to reach 10.3% and in the fourth quarter alone, up to 10.4%.

The contribution of traditional pillars such as industry and construction is showing signs of slowing down. Samsung Thai Nguyen still plays a core role, but the spillover effect to domestic enterprises is still limited, while new industrial parks such as Song Cong 2 and Yen Binh 3 are still in the stage of completing infrastructure.

In the face of these challenges, Thai Nguyen remains steadfast in its growth target. The determination to lead is clearly demonstrated in the statement of Provincial Party Secretary Trinh Viet Hung: “We cannot enter a new development phase with old thinking and old ways of doing things. We must re-establish the entire orientation, reorganize the economic space and proactively lead the future…”.

Thai Nguyen’s three growth pillars this year are identified as: industry and construction (expected to increase by 8.1%), services and product taxes minus subsidies (up by 10.8%), along with the contribution of agriculture and forestry. However, the key driving force in the growth scenario still depends on the FDI sector and the stability of the local business sector.

According to the assessment of the Statistics Department, the FDI sector continues to maintain its leading role, accounting for 92% of the province's industrial production value, equivalent to VND 1.11 million billion. In addition, the private economic sector and domestic enterprises have also changed positively, contributing about VND 89,000 billion to the province's industrial structure.

In fact, many large corporations from Korea, Japan, and China are operating effectively and continue to expand their investment in the province. This result not only reflects the growing economic scale but also affirms the attractiveness of Thai Nguyen to domestic and foreign investors.

Mr. Kaoru Ogane, General Director of Mani Hanoi Co., Ltd., commented: The big difference that creates the trust of investors in Thai Nguyen is the real and consistent support from the provincial leaders. Incentive policies are applied to the maximum within the framework of the Government, along with a separate support mechanism for priority projects, clearly demonstrating the spirit of saying what you do, acting for the common success of businesses and localities.

The effectiveness of planning, infrastructure, policies and a stable and transparent investment environment is showing that Thai Nguyen is gradually realizing its goal of becoming a smart and modern industrial center of the Northern Midlands and Mountains region and the Hanoi Capital region.

Although FDI plays an important role, Thai Nguyen identifies the need to diversify the economy. In the new orientation, the province pursues a growth scenario based on three axes: shifting from extensive to intensive development; taking people and businesses as the center; considering digitalization and innovation as driving tools.

Development space is also restructured according to the strengths of each region: the South focuses on industry, high technology and logistics; the central area promotes education, healthcare, trade and high-quality services; the North prioritizes ecological agriculture, heritage tourism and small-scale industry.

To realize the growth scenario, Thai Nguyen faces many challenges. The province needs to urgently review and adjust the master plan to ensure it is consistent with industry planning, national planning and regional planning, and at the same time issue specific support policies to attract investment in new areas.

The post-merger growth scenario demonstrates the determination to take advantage of opportunities from the expansion of administrative boundaries. However, to turn the goal into reality, it requires great efforts from the government and the business community. Only with that companionship can Thai Nguyen fully exploit its post-merger potential and rise to become a new growth pole of the Northern key economic region.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/kinh-te/202509/kich-ban-tang-truong-sau-hop-nhat-ab83979/