4:04:41 PM | 19/4/2012
"In the past years, Dak Lak province has continuously improved mechanisms, issued a number of preferential policies and stepped up administrative reform to create an open investment environment for enterprises,” Mr Nguyen Viet Tuong, Director of Dak Lak Department of Planning and Investment, said in an interview with Vietnam Business Forum. Hoang Linh reports.
Could you tell us about Dak Lak province’s investment attraction results in 2011 and its efforts to create favourable conditions for investors?
In 2011, due to general problems, Dak Lak province only attracted 33 domestic projects and one foreign-invested project (Metro Cash & Carry in Buon Ma Thuot City) with total investment capital of VND303 billion. By the end of 2011, it licensed 470 domestic projects worth VND60,000 billion (nearly US$3 billion) and eight FDI projects valued at US$166.8 million.
In addition to general preference policies stipulated by the central government, Dak Lak province offers its own incentives for investors. Particularly, the province uses the local budget to build infrastructure inside industrial parks and carry out environmental impact assessment reports in order to help investors cut costs when they invest in industrial zones. In addition, it offers the lowest land rental rates in the current framework applied projects inside industrial zones. If projects are involved in key fields, Dak Lak supports them to train workers, access credit, and build road and electricity grids.
To promptly handle legitimate requests from investors and businesses, the Provincial People’s Committee assigned the Dak Lak Trade, Investment and Tourism Promotion Centre to guide and support enterprises in the process of investment preparation. Every Thursday, the Provincial People’s Committee sends at least one provincial leader to receive and work with investors. It also hosts two general meetings with investors and businesses each year. All this aims to ensure smooth provincial administration and limit red tape.
Dak Lak province also issued the Action Plan for improving the provincial competitiveness index (PCI) in 2011 - 2015 and towards 2020 to improve the investment and business environment and create favourable conditions for business development.
What fields are attractive to investors? And in the future, what fields will the province focus on to attract investors?
With the aim of attracting more foreign investment, expanding investment fields, increasing investment locations, diversifying FDI attraction forms, and focusing on potential markets and leading corporations in the world, the province has worked out the Foreign Economic Project, Provincial Competitiveness Index Improvement Project, and Economic Diplomacy Project. Accordingly, Dak Lak will boost investment into positive fields like manufacturing and processing of agricultural and forest products, particularly for export. As regards livestock husbandry, the province encourages large-scaled husbandry along with the food processing industry. With respect to forestry, it promotes investing in high-yield forest crops, planting forests, developing non-wood forest products and processing forest products. It also promotes investment in hydropower, agro-forest product processing, information technology, electronics, microelectronics, agricultural mechanics, extractive industry, and construction material production. It also attracts foreign investors to invest in supporting industries and encourages all economic sectors to invest in education, training, health, finance, banking and trade.
What are your solutions to boost investment attraction in Dak Lak province?
Despite positive changes, the outcomes have not fulfilled local potential, for many reasons. The first is weak infrastructure and unfavourable geographical location - far from sea ports and major traffic routes. The second is limited skills and competence of human resources for industrial production and service development. The third is ineffective investment promotion and ineffective access to potential investors. The fourth is inefficient administrative reform.
To create conditions for investors to do business, the province will first focus on overcoming disadvantages and implementing the following measures to promote investment.
First, the province will review, adjust, approve and announce infrastructure plans through 2020 to lay the groundwork for attracting investment for infrastructure development; enhance planning and plan implementation to attract investment into transportation, energy, telecommunications, agriculture, forestry, tourism and highly socialised fields like health care, education, culture and sports.
Second, the province will increase investment upgrading local transport infrastructure, inter-province connections with other Central Highlands provinces and the rest of the country. It will quickly complete planning through 2020 to lay the base for human resource development in the next period.
Third, human resources will be further enhanced. Dak Lak will promote investment into education, build education facilities and build market-based training programmes.
Besides, by issuing the Action Plan for improving the provincial competitiveness index (PCI) in 2011 - 2015, the province will implement it to make the local investment environment better. Besides, it will build up new investment encouragement policies to catch up with current development trends. While attracting investment capital, it attaches much importance to ecological environment protection, implements environmental protection regulations, and minimises negative impacts on investment projects.
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