Investment Appeal Surges in Vietnam's Southernmost Province

In 2023, Ca Mau's Provincial Competitiveness Index (CPI) showed remarkable improvement in ranking and score compared to other provinces and cities, including those in the Mekong Delta region. It now ranks among the top for governance quality nationwide. To learn more about the approaches to further enhance the province’s investment and business environment, Vietnam Business Forum interviewed Mr. Nguyen Duc Thanh, Director of the Department of Planning and Investment of Ca Mau province.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Van Su presents certificates of merit to individuals who have contributed to enhancing the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI)

What are the key strengths that have made Ca Mau an attractive destination for investors, and what have been the results of investment attraction in the province to date?

Ca Mau, one of the four key economic provinces in the Mekong Delta, boasts many advantages due to its location bordered on three sides by the sea and its expansive sea area of over 71,000 km², bordering Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia by the sea. The province is well-positioned for marine economic development and international trade connections. Additionally, Ca Mau has potential in aquaculture and ecotourism, with over 100,000 hectares of cajuput forests and mangrove forests recognized by UNESCO as a world biosphere reserve.

Ca Mau's economy has experienced strong growth, with its potential and advantages being increasingly leveraged for sustainable development. Following the control of the COVID-19 pandemic, the province's economy rebounded and continued to progress. The Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) grew by 6.99% in 2022, 7.83% in 2023, and is projected to increase by 6.53% in 2024, with a 6.96% rise in the first half of 2024. Additionally, the province's PCI has improved due to efforts in reforming administrative procedures, enhancing the investment and business environment, and fostering favorable conditions for enterprise development.

Ca Mau province offers attractive investment incentives, including preferential corporate tax rates such as 10% for 15 years or 17% for 10 years, along with tax exemptions for 2-4 years and 50% reductions for the following four or nine years, depending on the project and investment area. Investment promotion in the province is comprehensive, involving research on potential markets, trends and partners. Ca Mau focuses on attracting selective domestic and foreign investments, particularly in advanced technology, green projects with high added value, and those that connect production and supply chains. The province also emphasizes inter-sectoral and inter-regional investment promotion, integrating trade, tourism, and economic diplomacy efforts.

Ca Mau has become a preferred destination for large enterprises, particularly in seafood, wind power, and real estate. The province is home to over 5,200 domestic and foreign enterprises with a total registered capital exceeding VND63,800 billion. Most businesses are performing well, especially in seafood processing, export aquaculture, gas, electricity, fertilizer and tourism. Ca Mau's seafood products are exported to over 60 countries, generating an annual turnover of over US$1 billion, including key markets like Japan, the US and the EU. The province has 14 wind power projects approved, totaling 800 MW, with 170 MW already operational. Additionally, 1,217 projects have installed rooftop solar power systems with a combined capacity of over 111 MWp, and annual fertilizer production exceeds one million tons.

Currently, Ca Mau has 460 investment projects in operation with a total registered capital exceeding VND 147,000 billion. This includes 11 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with a total registered capital of over US$161 million. Among these, 50 projects are located in industrial parks and economic zones, with a registered capital of VND20,893 billion. This includes 3 FDI projects with a registered capital of VND1,964 billion and 1 infrastructure project valued at VND538 billion.

Ca Mau hosts a conference to connect Chinese businesses with local companies

How has Ca Mau's reform of administrative procedures and improvement of the investment and business environment contributed to building trust and satisfaction among residents and businesses?

Administrative reform in Ca Mau has been carried out methodically and efficiently. Institutional and law-making reforms have been prioritized and innovated. Efforts to streamline administrative procedures and enhance the investment and business environment have been actively promoted. The organizational apparatus has been reformed significantly, resulting in positive changes. Administrative procedures managed by the Department of Planning and Investment have seen processing times reduced by 20% to 30% compared to the prescribed durations.

Administrative procedure reforms in Ca Mau have led to improvements, innovation, and efficiency in the administrative apparatus. The province has embraced digital transformation, helping improve administrative processes and enhance public trust and satisfaction. According to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), Ca Mau's PCI in 2023 rose to 22nd out of 63 provinces and cities nationwide, a jump of 36 ranks, with a score of 67.65 points (up 6.05 points). The province also ranked 6th out of 13 in the Mekong Delta region, up 6 positions from 2022. These results highlight the effective and timely efforts of the Provincial Party Committee, Provincial People's Council, and Provincial People's Committee, reflecting the successful implementation of government tasks and solutions to improve the investment and business environment.

Given that disbursement of public investment capital is a top priority, what specific measures is Ca Mau taking to accelerate the implementation and disbursement of public investment in 2024, particularly for key projects?

In 2024, Ca Mau province's public investment plan, including allocations from 2023, totals VND5,228.3 billion. Of this, VND4,315.2 billion has been allocated in detail, with VND913.1 billion remaining unallocated. By the end of July 2024, approximately 35% of the total public investment capital (including the carryover from 2023) had been disbursed. This rate exceeds the national average disbursement rate of 32.22% and the 34.68% rate of the plan assigned by the Prime Minister, but is lower than the 38.2% disbursement rate of the same period in 2023, where VND1,837,479 billion was disbursed.

The disbursement progress for the 2024 public investment plan, including carryover from 2023, has been slow and does not meet the requirements set in Action Program 01/CTr-UBND dated January 19, 2024, which mandates a 50% disbursement rate by the end of the second quarter. To address this, the Provincial People's Committee has issued the Action Program, assigning tasks and solutions to provincial departments, district and city People's Committees, and investors. Ca Mau is now enforcing regular reporting on progress, difficulties, and obstacles on a weekly and monthly basis for all projects, especially major ones. Additionally, the province is conducting on-site inspections and meetings led by provincial leaders to promptly address issues, accelerate project implementation, and improve disbursement rates.

Ca Mau is actively reviewing and advising competent authorities to adjust and reduce the capital plans for projects with slow or no disbursement, reallocating funds to projects with better progress. The province is also maintaining regular contact and issuing necessary documents to coordinate with central ministries for the Ca Mau airport expansion project. This aims to advance the approval of the project investment policy by the Prime Minister, allowing Ca Mau to proceed with compensation, site clearance, and detailed allocation of the capital plan. These efforts are intended to accelerate the disbursement progress of the province's 2024 public investment plan.

What are the province's plans for promoting and attracting investment in 2025?

The Investment Promotion Program focuses on implementing key socio-economic development indicators for 2021-2025, as outlined in the Resolution of the Provincial Party Congress. It also adheres to the guiding principles of foreign investment cooperation in Resolution 50-NQ/TW, dated August 20, 2019, by the Politburo and the Foreign Investment Cooperation Strategy for 2021-2030. For 2025, the Investment Promotion Program in Ca Mau province will emphasize several core areas. First, it aims to increase investment attraction to support the successful execution of the 2025 Socio-Economic Development Plan. Second, it will prioritize preparing input factors to attract projects in sectors such as seafood processing, tourism, oil and gas exploitation, logistics, clean energy and infrastructure in industrial parks and economic zones. This will help create clean land for secondary projects. The program will also organize on-site investment promotion events combined with business dialogues to disseminate legal documents, preferential policies, and support for investment. Additionally, it will focus on researching investment trends, markets, and potential partners both domestically and internationally to proactively attract investment. The program will work on disseminating information about policies, conditions, and the investment environment.

The province will provide information on investment opportunities and incentive policies through Vietnamese embassies abroad, foreign trade offices in Vietnam, seminars, conferences, and mass media. Ca Mau plans to build a comprehensive database on natural, economic, social conditions, and the investment environment to support investor inquiries. It will continue improving the business investment environment and offer training to enhance the investment promotion skills of officials. Ca Mau will actively participate in investment promotion and cooperation forums at regional, national, and international levels. The province will also focus on selecting qualified investors to directly attract investment for key, large-scale projects both within and outside industrial parks and economic zones, particularly in seafood processing, tourism, oil and gas exploitation, logistics, clean energy, and infrastructure.

Thank you very much!

By Tri Dung, Vietnam Business Forum