Unleashing investment resources for further development

By embracing integration trends with effective and creative approaches, Thai Binh has become a reliable and attractive destination for domestic and foreign investors. Going forward, the province will focus on removing bottlenecks, accelerating public investment disbursement, further promoting and attracting large-scale projects with high-tech value to unleash resources for further breakthrough development. Our reporter has an interview on this with Ms. Thai Thi Thu Huong, Director of the Department of Planning and Investment, Thai Binh province.

With high determination and the strong participation of the entire political system, Thai Binh achieved impressive results in public investment disbursement in the first months of 2024. To maintain this outcome result and growth momentum, what tasks and solutions is the Department of Planning and Investment advising and carrying out?

The province has defined speeding up public investment disbursement as a key task and targeted to disburse 100% of the assigned fund to boost economic growth. With the high determination of the entire political system, the province's annual public investment disbursement is always higher than the national average, with the disbursement rate estimated to reach 60% of the fund assigned by the Prime Minister in the first seven months of 2024 (the national average was estimated at 34.68%).

To perform its assigned tasks, in the past time, the Department of Planning and Investment has promptly notified investors to adhere to the committed schedule, and advised on capital allocation for projects, with priority to key traffic projects like coastal roads, trunk roads in the economic zone, the road from Thai Binh City to Cau Nghin, Expressway CT.08, the road from Thai Binh City to Sa Cao Bridge, and the southern beltway of Thai Binh City.

The department consulted the Provincial People's Committee to issue directive documents to speed up project progress, including capital disbursement targets and linking them to the responsibilities of agency/unit leaders; counseled on the establishment of a monitoring team and pressed on the progress of public investment disbursement plans; directed specialized departments to promote administrative procedure reform; and improved the quality of investment appraisal and bidding.

Not only disbursing public investment funds, Thai Binh is also a bright investment attractor in the country, especially of foreign direct investment (FDI). What do you think about the province's investment attraction in recent times?

To date, Thai Binh has licensed 165 valid FDI projects with about US$5.21 billion of registered capital. Remarkably, the province attracted the all-time highs of nearly US$3 billion of FDI in 2023 (ranked 5th out of 63 provinces and cities nationwide). The particularly large projects include nearly US$2-billion Thai Binh LNG Thermal Power Plant, US$212-million VSIP Industrial Park and US$200-million Pegavision Factory.

In the first seven months of 2024, the province also drew 20 FDI projects with US$222.61 million. These projects will leverage socioeconomic development, attract local workers and ensure social security.

Chairman of the Thai Binh Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Khac Than emphasized the province's commitment to actively support businesses by addressing and resolving bottlenecks promptly

The Thai Binh Provincial Plan for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2050, sets the goal: By 2030, Thai Binh will become a fairly developed province and one of industrial development centers of the Red River Delta region. In which industries and fields will the province attract investment capital? How will the scale and quality of the projects be ensured?

As a coastal province in the southeast of the Red River Delta, Thai Binh lies in Hanoi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh development triangle and in the center of the northern coastal development triangle of Hanoi - Ninh Binh - Hai Phong. This is a great advantage for the province to attract investment and boost socioeconomic development.

According to the approved master plan, Thai Binh province will strive to become a fairly developed province and one of industrial development centers of the Red River Delta region by 2030; and have a modern economic structure with industry as a main driving force for rapid, comprehensive and sustainable growth. By 2050, the province will have a developed economy with growth driven by science and technology, innovation and highly competitive key economic sectors.

Thai Binh province will give priority to attracting reputable, branded companies with financial and technological capabilities to invest in large projects with high added value, participation in global value chains, tax-intensive, land-extensive and labor-extensive operations as follows:

Agriculture: Developing sustainable organic agriculture and biotech-applied agriculture; building specialized areas and high-tech agricultural zones; and applying VietGAP- and GlobalGAP standards.

Industry: Encouraging the development of processing industries, supporting industries, agricultural industries, electricity and wind power; and prioritizing reputable and branded enterprises to invest in large-scale projects with high added value and products involved in global value chains.

Service and trade: Attracting investment capital for building and upgrading trade centers, supermarkets and markets; prioritizing the development of wholesale markets and logistics services; encouraging the development of e-commerce, domestic trade, building production and distribution linkage chains; investing in large-scale modern tourism infrastructure projects (Con Vanh, Con Den eco-tourism development projects).

Environment: Building waste and wastewater treatment plants for industrial zones.

Investment promotion: Diversifying investment promotion channels and methods; applying digital technology to investment promotion.

To accompany businesses and investors, what activities will the department advise and carry out?

Thai Binh defines businesses and entrepreneurs as an important force of socioeconomic development. The province always accompanies and develops businesses with practical and specific solutions and activities such as:

Directing relevant agencies and localities to actively review and remove bottlenecks and obstacles in investment attraction, production and business development; promoting improvement and creating a favorable environment to woo investors; issuing and implementing mechanisms and policies to support businesses entering the market in 2022 - 2025.

Every year, launching emulation campaigns and incentive meetings; meeting businesses to grasp and remove difficulties and obstacles faced by them; establishing the Thai Binh Investment and Development Support and Promotion Center and its Working Groups to effectively support businesses. For large projects, the province will establish a separate investor support working group responsible for assisting investors in execution processes. The province will maintain the effective operation of the Public Administration Service Center, the Single-window mechanism, contact hotlines of governmental agencies, and the "Business Coffee" Program; officially operate Thai Binh business support information channels on the Zalo application to facilitate regular business support meetings and exchanges to promptly remove difficulties and obstacles against businesses.

Directing relevant agencies and localities to actively review and reduce the time limit for handling administrative procedures by sector and field of administration; publicizing socioeconomic information, databases, legal documents and planning, plans, mechanisms and management policies to create favorable conditions for businesses; and directing inspection and examination by law and avoiding duplication and overlapping.

The Thai Binh Provincial Planning for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2050, has opened a new development stage for the province. To successfully achieve its goals, Thai Binh will more drastically reform its administration, place people and businesses at the center of service, daringly take responsibility for common interests of the province; seriously reform administrative procedures, upgrade the investment and business environment, and enhance competitiveness.

These efforts will help realize the goal of making Thai Binh a fairly developed province by 2030 and a developed province of the Red River Delta region by 2050.

Thank you so much!

Duy Anh  (Vietnam Business Forum)