“We Should View from Investors Position”

 “The centre is working to introduce the image of a fully potential Ho Chi Minh City to investors. More importantly, there is no limit in introducing preferential policies relating to taxes, land prices. We always view from the position of investors to know what issues they are paying attention to in order to meet timely the demand”. This is affirmation of Tu Minh Thien, Director of the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee (ITPC) in an interview with reporter My Chau about the city’s investment attraction.

In 2010, the centre actively expanded the market for the municipal enterprises in particular and those from neighboring provinces in general, with a focus on expanding the market share from some enterprises and exploiting the Cambodian and Myanmar markets which are easier for firms to penetrate than the EU and North American markets. Also, the center took care of the two major markets of Japan and US to support exporters in parallel with calling for investments.   

For the trade promotion work, we supported enterprises in checking their structure of products in order to find out the most ones for export as well as in attending fairs and exhibitions in other countries.  

In terms of the domestic market, the ITPC also strived quite much to help firms sell products and expand the distribution channel. Through the program of “Vietnamese people use Vietnamese goods”, we successfully organized 12 such fairs in districts, processing zones and industrial parks.  

Regarding the investment promotion, the center is aware that cutting investment of countries after the economic crisis is an unavoidable fact. Thus, the center expanded activities to attract foreign investments into Ho Chi Minh City via organizing business trips with the central and municipal leaders to introduce potentials and projects of the city. The ITPC also supported enterprises of the US, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong to expand their investment in the city in parallel with assisting domestic firms to widen investments in other provinces and cities nationwide as well as in Laos, Cambodia. We also provided the information involved in market and products for enterprises via the center’[s electronic portal and website. The ITPC opened 36 training courses on skills relating to trade and investment promotion, project establishment for businesses.  

Besides, the ITPC was in charge of operating the dialogue system between enterprises and the municipal authority. Up to 42 departments and the central’s representative agencies have attended the system to answer queries of businesses via the two manners: direct dialogues between enterprises and authorized agencies held once monthly in Rex Hotel and the online dialogue.

 

The ITPC has closely cooperated with the city’s department of planning and investment to support enterprises to invest into the city as well as local firms to invest abroad. We often joined hands to hold conferences on calling for investments from other provinces and cities such as Tra Vinh, Hue, Dak Nong and Quang Tri. Introducing potentials of localities to the city’s enterprises is not only helping enterprises to understand clear business opportunities, but also boosting the regional connection and exploitation of potentials at the lowest cost. After such conferences, under the assistance of the ITPC and department of planning and investment, enterprises will find it easier to get access to the local authorities.     

In addition, to increase the mutual understanding as well as settle with difficulties between investors and local governments, it is vital to get the information clear. Localities should provide investors with the information on projects, policies and priorities in order to help the former in analyzing and giving the most effective investment decisions. Regarding procedures and preparation of investment projects, the authorities should view from the position of investors to offer suitable ways. The city also needs realize commitments to maintain the prestige as well as to show the consistent management in investment activities, contributing to create the faith among current and future investors. If implementing comprehensively all the three solutions, the city will gain high results in attracting investors from other localities and foreign countries to Ho Chi Minh City as well as solve difficulties between enterprises with the authority.     

Currently, the ITPC is focusing on some major projetcs to support enterprises. In 2010, we set up the Vietnam Exporters Association (VEXA) - a club comprising HCMC-based enterprises in the export industry and this year we will continue to boost the operation of the club. The VEXA and Dutch Centre for the Promotion of Import from Developing Countries (CBI) signed a cooperation agreement in order to help Vietnmaese firms to easier get access to importers and investors. The agreemetn include the two main programs: supporting package exports to the EU market and raising the capacity for trade promotion organizations int eh three fields of food processing, fashion garment and interior decoration. 

 

This year, the ITPC will develop the initiative industry, a quite new field in Vietnam. We are going to submit the scheme to the city people’s committee and party’s committee. If approved, it will be piloted in Ho Chi Minh City first before expanding to other localities nationwide. Besides, we will also support enterprises operating in the supporting industries field, particularly those in the plastics industry to help them improve the quality of products and promptly transfer from the package plastics to the industrial plastics to serve other industries. We are working to set up a three-party cooperation model in the field, comprising enterprises, the ITPC and international organizations like Jica or private companies. If successful, we will expand it to other fields such as electricity and mechanics in a bid to make Ho Chi Minh City into a center of supporting industries in the time being.

 

For the market development, apart from traditional markets like the US, Japan, EU, we have planned to conquer neighboring markets like Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos in order to raise the competitive capacity of Vietnamese goods. In terms of the investment promotion work, the ITPC still focus on the three major markets of the US, EU and Japan.