New Tien Giang Is Ready for Breakthrough

The adoption of the Mekong Delta Master Plan for the 2021-2030 period has opened up many opportunities for development and shaped new values. In anticipation of these opportunities, Tien Giang province is stepping up investment promotion and attraction to stay ready to make new breakthroughs and strive to become a developed province in the Southern Key Economic Region by 2025.

Vietnam Business Forum's reporter has an exclusive interview with Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thong, Director of the Department of Planning and Investment, Tien Giang province.

How do you assess business development and investment attraction of the province in recent years?

Advantageously being a trade gateway of the Mekong Delta with Ho Chi Minh City and the whole country, Tien Giang has enormous potential and opportunities to attract investment capital. In 2016 - 2020, the province licensed 116 projects with a total investment capital of VND34,922.71 billion, 24 projects and 62% of value more than the previous period. The province had 3,343 new enterprises, an increase of 1.6 times over the 2011 - 2015 period.

In 2021, affected by the epidemic and subjected to prolonged social distancing, the province licensed 15 projects with a total registered investment fund of VND1,827.35 billion, including six foreign-invested projects with VND530.35 billion and nine domestic investment projects with VND1,297 billion, and permitted five existing projects to increase their investment fund by VND4,115 billion. In total, in 2021, Tien Giang drew VND5,942 billion of investment capital. In the first eight months of 2022, the locality attracted 13 projects with VND4,163 billion, 8.7 times higher than a year-ago period, and allowed four existing projects to add to their investment funds VND1,045 billion, bringing the total investment fund to the province to VND5,029 billion in the eight-month period.

Besides, Tien Giang had 644 new companies registered for establishment with VND4,860.5 billion of business funds in the first eight months of the year. In 2022, the province expected to have 860 new companies, a year on year increase of 49.3%. Business development in 2022 will be the best ever, showing the confidence and effort of the business community and the provincial government for socioeconomic recovery.

A conference to introduce projects calling for investment into Tien Giang province, Sep 2022

Resolution 24-NQ/DH of the 11th Provincial Party Congress (2020-2025 term) set the target of attracting 140 projects, an increase of 24 projects, and 1.78 times more business capital than in the 2016-2020 period. What do you think about this goal? What solutions and tasks has the Department of Planning and Investment advised and executed?

Implementing Resolution 24-NQ/DH dated October 15, 2020 of the 11th Provincial Party Congress (2020-2025 term), Tien Giang province devised a 5-year plan for 2021-2025, aiming to draw 140 projects, including more than 80 domestic investment projects with VND22,000 billion of investment capital, an increase of 15 projects and 45.5% in investment capital over the 2016-2020 period.

Big projects put up for investors in this period include infrastructure development investment for Tan Phuoc I Industrial Park (VND5,900 billion), Tan Phuoc II Industrial Park (VND3,255 billion) and Binh Dong Industrial Park (VND2,400 billion). The province will draw tenants for these industrial parks, including 60 FDI projects with US$1,745 million of investment capital, including US$1,570 million from new projects and US$175 million from existing projects, an increase of 50.87% over the 2016-2020 period. 

However, due to impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic, since the start of 2021, despite great efforts, the province attracted only 28 projects with VND10,271 billion of investment capital, respectively equal to 20% and 17% of the yearly targets. To reach the investment target, Tien Giang province will need to make greater efforts from now to 2025.

The province will focus on the solutions below:

(1) Quickly complete and submit for approval the Tien Giang Planning for the 2021-2030 phase and to 2050, with sufficient grounds to call for investors; immediately publicize approved plans, provide detailed instructions in reference to legal documents and regulations of all levels, and ensure easy access to legal documents for all.

(2) Focus investment resources for infrastructure upgrading to appeal investment flows, especially traffic infrastructure, electricity supply and water supply: Trung Luong - My Thuan Expressway, An Huu - Cao Lanh Expressway, Cho Gao Canal and Rach Mieu 2 Bridge.

The province has been investing in inter-regional transport routes like Provincial Road 864 (110 km long, more than VND3,000 billion of construction cost), Long An - Tien Giang - Ba Ria - Vung Tau Coastal Road and a key road to Dong Thap Muoi.

(3) Improve training quality: Continue to cooperate with local and external schools, especially Tien Giang University, Tien Giang Vocational College, and secondary vocational schools across the province, to boost training quality, and associate training with sectoral development based on corporate and market demands.

(4) Further enhance the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) and the Vietnam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) to better serve people and businesses. This is considered a constant and persistent task.

In September 2022, the province held a conference to seek solutions to improve the PCI Index and launch the District and Department Competitiveness Index (DDCI). There is independent consultancy to assess index performances at each department, branch and locality.

(5) Organize a conference to publicly announce a list of projects seeking investment capital in 2022 (held on September 9, 2022) with all relevant information, stating project objectives, land status, provisional land price, location and management agency to facilitate investors to access, research and register for project implementation.

(6) Build interagency procedural processes for enterprises and investors regarding auction, bidding, investor certification, investment, land, construction and environment procedures.

(7) Build many information channels to timely capture and solve difficulties and problems; improve the service ethics of public employees in performing their official duties of settling procedures for investors and enterprises.

After a "stagnation" period caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Tien Giang is speeding up investment promotion with the introduction of Decision 1581/QD-UBND on the list of investment projects in 2022 with specific perspectives, clear orientations and diverse forms. Could you please tell us about expectations about investment attraction results as per this decision?

The Tien Giang Provincial People’s Committee ratified a list of 59 investment projects seeking VND22,389 billion (US$1 billion) in 2022, including 34 projects with VND5,776 billion using public land and 25 land acquisition projects with VND16,613 billion such as urban development, residential area development, trade, service, tourism, industry, agriculture, health, education and sports development.

To facilitate investors to study their projects, the province held a conference to introduce a list of investment projects in 2022 where it offered investment opportunities to investors on the one hand and listened to their opinions about local investment climate as well as new investment initiatives in the coming time.

As a result, the province has improved the investment environment, and attracted investment in projects to boost local socioeconomic development according to resolutions of the Provincial Party Congress.

The announcement of the Mekong Delta Plan for the 2021-2030 period has opened up many new development opportunities for provinces in the region. To capture these opportunities, how has Tien Giang province prepared for new investment flows in the coming time?

The recent announcement of the Mekong Delta Plan has opened up many development opportunities, including Tien Giang. To seize these opportunities, the province has applied many urgent and foundational solutions for sustainable development, focusing on three aspects: Developing infrastructure, reforming administrative procedures, and improving the investment and business environment as well as human resources.

Tien Giang province has invested in building a synchronous infrastructure system, especially traffic, electricity and water, with special attention paid to connecting with provinces in the Southern Key Economic Zone and the Mekong Delta to boost appeals to investors.

The province will create land funds in Long Jiang, Gia Thuan 1, Gia Thuan 2, Thanh Tan and other industrial parks for investors and stay ready to welcome the new wave of FDI inflows.

Furthermore, Tien Giang province will speed up administrative reform, enhance the business environment, and raise the ethics of civil servants in performing their official duties. The province established and operated the Public Administration Service Center, the Non-budget Investment Project Evaluation Team, the Provincial/District Investment Contact Team, the Investment Promotion and Business Support Center to better support businesses and investors.

Last but not least, the province will focus on improving the quality of human resources to meet development needs and take care of worker health and life: Building institutions for trade union and social housing areas.

Thank you very much!

Ngo San (Vietnam Business Forum)