On 29 September 2026, the Asia Competitiveness Institute (ACI) hosted the seminar “The New Tây Ninh: Regional Production Powerhouse” as part of its Seminar Series on ASEAN Economic Linkages.
The seminar featured Ms Tran Thi Ngoc My, Trade Official at Tây Ninh’s Department of Industry and Trade, former Research Analyst at ACI, and graduate of the Master in Public Policy programme at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
The discussion examined the economic potential created by the 2025 merger of the former Long An and Tây Ninh provinces. The merger brings together Long An’s established industrial base and proximity to Ho Chi Minh City with Tây Ninh’s border access to Cambodia and the Greater Mekong Subregion. The result is a province of more than 8,500 square kilometres and 3.25 million people that potentially connects the Cambodian border, manufacturing centres, Ho Chi Minh City and international markets within a single economic corridor.
Ms Tran argued, however, that greater administrative scale does not automatically create economic integration. While the new province has strong investment momentum, a sizeable manufacturing base and an increasingly important logistics position, its emergence as a genuine regional production powerhouse will depend on whether it can translate these advantages into deeper production linkages, greater domestic value creation and stronger regional connectivity.
The seminar discussion also explored what Tây Ninh’s transformation could mean for Singapore, Cambodia and the wider Southern Vietnamese economic region, as well as how Viet Nam can manage the opportunities and risks arising from its increasingly complex position between Asian supply chains and major Western export markets.
Key Highlights:
1. The merger creates a new regional production platform
The merger brings together the former Long An’s established industrial base and proximity to Ho Chi Minh City with Tây Ninh’s border access to Cambodia and the Greater Mekong Subregion. This creates the potential for a border-to-production-to-seaport corridor, linking cross-border trade and manufacturing with Ho Chi Minh City’s ports and international markets.
2. FDI momentum is strong, but quality matters
Tây Ninh has more than 2,000 FDI projects and around US$27.6 billion in registered capital. Particularly notable is the US$1.9 billion in expansion capital committed by existing investors in the first half of 2026. The next challenge is to translate this investment into stronger domestic supplier linkages, skills development, technology transfer and higher local value added.
3. The border must move from transit to value creation
Mộc Bài gives Tây Ninh a strategic position connecting Viet Nam with Cambodia and the wider Mekong region. However, around two-thirds of border-gate trade value in 2023–2025 consisted of transit and re-export. Developing processing, manufacturing, logistics services and cross-border investment would allow the province to capture more value from these flows.
4. Implementation will determine whether potential becomes reality
The province’s next phase requires moving beyond investment attraction towards investment readiness. The presentation highlighted three key transitions: land to serviced land, transit to value capture, and assembly to higher-value processing. Progress will depend on infrastructure delivery, reliable utilities, workforce development, stronger supplier ecosystems and effective post-merger governance.
