9:38:15 PM | 16/5/2011
The Dong Thap Trade and Investment Promotion Centre is promoting its roles as an effective bridge for companies to approach and conquer many new lucrative markets; and introducing the image of Dong Thap to more potential investors. In an interview with reporter My Chau, Director of Dong Thap Trade and Investment Promotion Centre, Huynh The Phien, stressed: "Being dynamic, enthusiastic and professional in all activities, the centre has become a trusted destination for all businesses in the province.”
Could you brief on trade, investment and tourism promotion programmes that the Centre has implemented in recent years?
In the past years, we have excellently performed our role when we carried out a lot of promotion programmes to support businesses and advised the provincial authorities. By organising trade fairs, exhibitions and rural peddling programmes which aim at selling made-in-Vietnam goods at soft prices, we offer good opportunities for enterprises to directly contact consumers and support them to seek for business partners and markets to boost sales.
As regards investment promotion activities, in the past years, the centre has organised many investment attracting events inside the province and in large cities, and participated in many regional, national and international investment forums to provide a bridge for investors to work with provincial authorities to study the investment and business environment. Besides, we have hosted investor welcoming events and frequently provided initial information about the investment environment for investors; thus helping attract many projects into the province. Specially, providing information through mass media, promoting e-commerce and regularly updating information on trading floors have facilitated partners and investors to learn and approach the business and investment environment of Dong Thap. Additionally, we have organised seminars and training courses to enhance knowledge and experience for businesses.
As an agency responsible for implementing instructions of the Provincial People’s Committee and coordinating with relevant bodies to attract investment capital into the province, we have thus intensified the popularity of the image and investment environment of Dong Thap province to domestic and international investors. As a result, many foreign investors have come to explore and decided to invest in Dong Thap.
What should Dong Thap particularly do to attract investors?
In my opinion, in the future, to expand investment attraction activities, Dong Thap province should propose the central government to grant separate policies for difficult provinces like Dong Thap to accelerate the pace of urbanisation, completion of infrastructure, and attraction of domestic and foreign investment capital. The province needs policies to attract all economic sectors, specially the foreign force, to invest in locally advantageous and potential fields, ensure manpower supply and training, improve technical infrastructure, actively solve difficulties for investors, and expand investment promotion activities. At the same time, it needs policies to complete infrastructure systems for investors like roads, electrical networks, water supply systems, communication systems and urban infrastructure systems by allowing more investment forms like BOT and BT. In addition, the province needs to implement “seven ready” policies for all cases of attracting domestic and foreign investment capital: ready with information, ready with land, ready with labour, ready with telecommunications, ready with transportation, electricity and water, ready with housing for workers, and ready for tax and capital support.
What is your centre’s development orientation in 2011? What measures will the centre take to increase supports for enterprises and investors?
In 2011, we will boost effective coordination of all forces, trade promotion forms, industry associations, international organisations, and enterprises businesses in the province to increase exports to key markets, exploit and develop potential markets and speed up the export restructuring to achieve targeted export revenue of over US$500 million in 2011. We will support the circulation of goods flows, expand the domestic market, assist companies - particularly SMEs - to edge up competitiveness, introduce their images and product quality to maintain existing markets and find out new ones.
Additionally, the centre will focus on drawing investors to industrial zones in the province, improve the effect of investment promotion activities, and join hands with relevant central and regional bodies to boost its efficiency of operations. We will also exert a pull on FDI projects to add wings for the economy to develop. We will improve the effect of trade promotion activities, coordinate with relevant agencies to improve the investment climate, provide initial information, and contact investors. At the same time, we will introduce tourist attractions, train tourism workers to enhance their expertise and service quality to draw more visitors to Dong Thap province.
More importantly, to provide better supports for investors and companies, in 2011, the centre will host an exhibition on “trade promotion bridge" in combination the “Vietnam Entrepreneurs Day” in Cao Lanh City, coordinate with trading companies to peddle made-in-Vietnam goods in rural areas, and help companies to attend trade fair and market survey delegations in the country and in foreign nations. Regarding business support, we will work with competent agencies to introduce outstanding and prestigious companies in the province to the National Value Brand programme and assist SMEs to develop their brands and popularity to strengthen their footholds in both domestic and international markets.
Concerning investment mobilisation, we will concentrate on attracting investment capital on prioritised projects in 2011. We will frequently provide updated information about socioeconomic development situations, investment project lists and investment opportunities in the province, update new legal documents for investors, domestic organisations, Vietnamese trade and investment promotion agencies in foreign countries like Japan, Germany, France, the US and Taiwan. Last but not least, we will coordinate with authorities at all tiers to organise seminars and business meetings with companies and business associations to introduce the investment environment and incentive policies to catch more fancy of investors.
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