Siding with Businesses, Investors to Success
Situated at the far end in the southwest of the country, Kien Giang province is considered a miniature Vietnam with a lot of potential and advantages for economic development. This strength plus the “red carpet” policy and the engagement of the whole political system has made Kien Giang an ideal destination for investors. The following interview with Mr. Tran Huu Nghi, Director of the Kien Giang Department of Planning and Investment, will reveal more about this success. Cong Luan reports.
Could you please tell remarkable investment attraction achievements of Kien Giang province by utilizing its existing potential advantages?
Kien Giang province has adopted many solutions to improve investment attraction efficiency and create resources for local socioeconomic development. By the end of 2018, the province licensed 680 domestic direct investment with VND503,763.02 billion (US$22 billion) of registered capital, including 341 operational projects with VND60,640.48 billion (US$2.66 billion) of investment capital, accounting for 12.04% of the total registered fund; 68 projects under construction with VND115,409.47 billion (US$5 billion), or 22.91% of the total registered capital; and 271 projects pending for construction with VND327,713.07 billion (US$14.3 billion). In 2018 alone, the province granted investment licenses to 28 new projects with VND13,166.06 billion (US$570 million) of investment capital, including 10 projects with VND8,781 billion in Phu Quoc. To date, many big investment projects have provided jobs for many local laborers and created driving forces for local socioeconomic development, including Vinpearl Resort, An Thoi Cable Car, Bai Khem Sun Beach Resort, Trung Son Seafood Processing Factory, and Saigon Beer Brewery.
For foreign direct investment (FDI), Kien Giang now has 49 FDI projects with US$2,756,908,399 from 19 countries and territories. Foreign investors have mainly invested in tourism, agriculture, processing industry, trade and services, helping unlock local potential, accelerate economic restructuring and add growth momentums to local socioeconomic development. Typical projects include the cement mill invested by Siam City Cement (Vietnam) Co., Ltd and MM Mega Market Rach Gia Center. Particularly, Phu Quoc Island is a destination for many big projects like Chensea Beach Resort; La Veranda Resort and Phu Quoc Paradise Resort. In addition to direct investment, foreigners are also keen on investment cooperation.
In recent years, Kien Giang province’s Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) has always been ranked high. Why did the province achieve this outcome?
Kien Giang province has an open investment environment. For many years, its PCI standings were quite high, ranked 13th in 2016 and 20th in 2017 with a total score of 63.65 points, up 2.84 points).
The above outcome came from the province’s focus on many investment facilitation solutions for businesses and investors in Kien Giang province. Specifically, the province executed Plan No. 123/KH-UBND dated July 20, 2018 of the Provincial People’s Committee to carry out the Resolution No. 19-2018/NQ-CP dated May 15, 2018 of the Government (now Decree No. 02/NQ-CP) and carry out action plans to enforce the Law on SME Support, the Directive 07/CT-TTg dated March 5, 2018 of the Prime Minister to better improve the business and investment environment climate to woo more businesses and investors.
Besides, the province accelerated administrative reform, deployed the single-window model across the province for many administrative procedures and operated VNACCS/VCIS automatic customs clearance system. To date, over 98% of local enterprises have applied electronic tax declaration and payment, thus reducing time for tax procedures to 117 hours a year and a third of time needed for social insurance procedures.
Particularly, the Department of Planning and Investment carried out over 200 administrative procedures, including 92 business registration procedures and 35 investment registration procedures, and deployed the single-window mechanism. Business registration has been launched onto the single-window system as specified in the Law on Enterprises 2014. Provincial authorities hosted regular meetings with businesses and investors every quarter to support businesses and investors, promptly remove difficulties and obstacles against them, and praise and reward them for good achievements.
With many solutions, in 2018, Kien Giang province achieved positive results. Non-state funded investment capital reached VND39,800 billion, accounting for 86% of total social investment capital (VND46,264.78 billion), ranked 3rd in the Mekong Delta region.
To create favorable conditions for businesses and investors in the province, what are practical support and attractive investment incentives offered by the province?
Kien Giang is offering high incentives for investors. In response to the 2014 Investment Law and the Government’s Decree No. 118/2015/ND-CP dated November 12, 2015 on detailed regulations on investment incentives in Appendix I (investment-incentivized sectors) and Appendix 2 (investment-incentivized places), all districts and towns except for Rach Gia City are classified places with special socioeconomic hardships which will enjoy the highest incentives in the framework of the Government. In addition, Phu Quoc Island has outstandingly attractive preference policies for investors.
Industries and fields that the province prioritizes to call for investment are also subject to the highest levels of incentives and support under the Government’s regulations such as aquaculture and high-tech agricultural production. Kien Giang has been, and will further, siding with businesses and investors to implement projects in the province. At the same time, we always apply highest preference and support policies for businesses and investors.
In the coming years, one of Kien Giang's priorities is still attracting investment capital sources for economic development. So, what does the province need to do to improve the effectiveness of this work?
In the coming time, Kien Giang will continue to implement integrated solutions to increase investment attraction outcome. It will direct sectors and levels to further improve the investment environment, enhance competitiveness, keep regular contact, and hold meetings with enterprises and investors to learn about their existing hardships for better policy response. It will continue to effectively integrate preferential and support policies; review legal regulations on investment, land and environment to propose amendments and supplements to laws, to facilitate investors and enterprises; and strengthen development cooperation with provinces in the Mekong Delta key economic region, with Ho Chi Minh City, and with Mekong Sub-region countries.
Knowing that infrastructure must go one step ahead, the province will mobilize more investment resources for synchronous infrastructure and facilitate enterprises to grow investment and production. Kien Giang will enlist the support of the central government to get more funds from target capital sources and government bonds; integrate and combine capital sources and coordinate to accelerate investment in key infrastructure projects for socioeconomic development like the southern coastal corridor route and National Highway 80 (Lo Te - Rach Soi section); mobilize budget capital and resources for important traffic infrastructure investment projects such as the road along KT1 Canal and the road along the Cai Lon River, Thu Hai - Cong Su Road, Duong Dong - Cua Can - Ganh Dau Road, Road 3/2 (from Kenh Manh culvert to Tac Cau junction), Rach Gia - Hong Dat coastal road, Rach Gia passenger port and a power network to Nam Du Islands. In addition, other infrastructures is also invested to better meet development investment requirements like establishing Ha Tien Border Gate Economic Zone and building infrastructure works inside industrial zones.
With these strong solutions and under the light of the working principle “The success of enterprises and investors is also the success of the province”, Kien Giang will always accompany enterprises when they invest and do business in the province.
Thank you very much!
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