Thai Nguyen Enhancing Competitiveness for Sustainable Development

By effectively preventing the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuring ongoing production and business activity, Thai Nguyen province managed to complete its goals and plans in 2021. To fulfill its tasks in 2022 and in the 2021 - 2026 period, the province has proposed many key solutions to support businesses, improve the business environment and enhance provincial competitiveness.

Impressive outcomes

Lying adjacent to Hanoi City and some provinces that experienced raging COVID-19 pandemic outbreaks such as Bac Giang and Bac Ninh, having a large number of migrant workers and foreign experts, Thai Nguyen was exposed to high pandemic risks. Therefore, the province always defined pandemic prevention and control as an urgent and top-priority task, even though this required a lot of resources.

While fighting the disease contagion, the province adopted many business and public support policies, led by a special working group headed by the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee. In addition to the Government-led support package, many specific policies were introduced by Thai Nguyen province, including assistance for people joining the fight against the pandemic. With the motto of “right person in right place”, the support was delivered flexibly and effectively by branches, units and localities.

By keeping the province safe against the pandemic and increasing business support in a timely manner, despite many difficulties, Thai Nguyen still successfully completed the goals in 2021. The province completed and exceeded 25 targets, including 15 outperforming ones. Its economic growth was estimated at 6.56%, higher than the national average. Its gross regional domestic product (GRDP) per capita was forecast at VND95.1 million. State budget revenue was projected at over VND17.7 trillion, equal to 145% of the target assigned by the Ministry of Finance, 113% of the target assigned by the Provincial People's Council. Thai Nguyen also exceeded goals in industrial production, export, agriculture, forestry and fishery.

Besides economic development, the locality quickly allocated investment capital right from the beginning of the year. Its public investment disbursement climbed to over 143% of the plan assigned by the Government, enabling the stronger performance of industry, construction and GRDP to offset trade and service sectors hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, social security policies were implemented in a full and timely manner. Its poverty rate decreased by 0.65% to 2.17% in 2021.

Mr. Trinh Viet Hung, Chairman of Thai Nguyen Provincial People's Committee, said 2022 is the pivotal year to implement the resolution of the 11th Provincial Party Congress. Hence, the province is determined to complete and exceed all targets, featuring GRDP growth of 8%, industrial growth of 9%, export growth of 9%, GRDP per capita of VND105 million, and budget revenue of VND18 trillion.

To accomplish these goals, in the coming time, Thai Nguyen will continue to flexibly and effectively prevent the pandemic contagion and boost socioeconomic development; and execute action programs of the Provincial Party Committee, the 5-year socioeconomic development plan, the public investment plan in 2021–2025, and the Thai Nguyen Master Plan approved by the Prime Minister.

“In addition, the province has actively improved the investment environment and created a driving force for socioeconomic development. It has developed agriculture and rural areas; ensured social security, sustainable poverty reduction, national defense, security and order; strengthened the capacity to analyze, forecast and closely monitor international, regional, domestic and local developments to take appropriate and timely countermeasures,” he emphasized.

Enhancing the business environment

By the end of 2021, Thai Nguyen province had 169 FDI projects with a total registered capital of US$9.67 billion and 856 valid private domestic investment projects with over VND150 trillion (US$6.5 billion). Thai Nguyen is also a “favorite address” for more than 8,000 domestic enterprises which registered to invest more than VND120 trillion.

To obtain these results, in addition to its potential and advantages such as location and natural resources, Thai Nguyen has made strong infrastructure investment. In particular, the active approach to creating a favorable investment climate has made the province an attractive destination for investment capital flows.

In recent years, Thai Nguyen has continuously stood among the Top 15 performers of the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI), ranked No. 11 out of 63 provinces and cities in 2020. This showed that the provincial government was very determined to give a facelift to the business environment and competitiveness in the tough time.

Accordingly, the province always paid attention to administrative reform, reduced the time and cost of dealing with administrative procedures for enterprises; and held dialogues with the business community to learn about their hardships and apply workable solutions.

Mr. Trinh Viet Hung, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, said that Thai Nguyen is always resolute to improve the investment environment and enhance competitiveness, considering it a central and regular task of the whole political system from provincial to grassroots levels in formulating socioeconomic development plans. The province has set goals to concretize the resolution of the government on key tasks and solutions to improve the business climate and raise national competitiveness in the 2021-2025 period; applying the resolution of the 20th Provincial Party Congress and Resolution 09-NQ/TU dated March 29, 2019 of the Executive Board of the Provincial Party Committee on boosting the business environment and provincial competitiveness.

The upcoming central tasks of the province are performing good administration; completing legal regulations, building investment policies; completing administrative procedures, enhancing the working performance of the Thai Nguyen Public Administration Service Center; boosting the performance of governmental agencies and the service quality of public employees; investing in synchronous infrastructure construction, planning management, supporting enterprises to access land and compensate site clearance; fostering investment promotion and attraction and business support services; and training human resources to meet investment attraction requirements.

“Building a favorable, fair, transparent, attractive and convenient business climate; improving the effectiveness of State management over investment and business; consistently and effectively deploying investment attraction, encouragement and support policies and accelerating economic development quickly and sustainably; maintaining the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) in the group of best performers in the country are the guiding mottos of Thai Nguyen province,” he affirmed.

By Vietnam Business Forum