Soc Trang Boosts Investment Attraction with Open Mechanisms

2:31:27 PM | 18/9/2012

By applying many open, investor-friendly mechanisms, Soc Trang province has attracted a number of investors to locate their projects in the province. While the economy is facing numerous difficulties and challenges, and investment attraction has become an intractable job for other Mekong Delta provinces, Soc Trang, with its proper methods and open mechanisms, has still managed to make good results in investment attraction. To learn more about investment attraction in the past time and orientation for the near future, Vietnam Business Forum has an interview with Mr Mai Phuoc Hung, Director of the Department of Planning and Investment of Soc Trang. Hoang Minh reports.

Could you tell us about investment attraction results in the first months of 2012?

In the past years, investment promotion has always been a top concern of provincial and local governments; thus, investment attraction results are impressive. New investment capital has helped boost socio-economic development and economic restructuring, increase State revenues, and generate jobs for workers. In the first five months of 2012 alone, Soc Trang handed investment certificates to nine projects worth VND229 billion (US$11 million) located outside industrial zones. They mainly registered to operate in agriculture, aquaculture, seafood processing and rice milling. Particularly, one foreign-invested project was worth US$8 billion.

In the coming time, what investment fields will Soc Trang give priority to?

In the 2011 - 2015 period, Soc Trang will focus on these priority areas: aquatic stock production; rice, vegetable and fruit processing for export; high-tech animal husbandry and slaughter; agricultural equipment and machinery manufacturing; industrial zone and seaport construction, trade centre and supermarket construction; hospital construction; school construction; and tourism and environmental protection.

Could you talk about Soc Trang province’s investment mechanisms and policies attractive to investors?

Following the enactment of the Investment Law 2005 and Government Decree 108/2006/ND-CP dated September 22, 2006 detailing and guiding the implementation of some articles of the Investment Law, Soc Trang province issued important decisions to promote investment, including the Provincial People's Committee Decision 47/2006/QD-UBND dated December 22, 2006 providing investment encouragement and support policies, Decision 02/2007/QD-UBND dated January 18, 2007 promulgating investment encouragement and support policies for projects in An Nghiep Industrial Park.

In 2011, to boost investment, Soc Trang province issued Decision 23/2011/QD-UBND dated June 24, 2011 on regulations on investment encouragement and support policies in Soc Trang province. Accordingly, in addition to general preferences provided by law, Soc Trang offers additional supports to projects covered by the list of specially encouraged and supported investment projects: Support for land reclamation, transfer and leasing; support for construction of outside-the-fence infrastructure for projects; support for completion of investment-related administrative procedures; support for investment procedure costs; support for personnel training; support for technological transfer and application; and rewards for investment promotion.

Particularly, organizations and individuals in Soc Trang province and other localities (except for officers and employees responsible for direct work at the Provincial People's Committee Office, Department of Planning and Investment and the Management Board of Industrial Zones) will be granted bonus in cash for their efforts to bring investors to the province to invest in projects listed in the list of specially encouraged and supported investment projects. As for domestic projects, the reward equals to 0.2 percent of project value, but the amount will be limited at VND50 million each project. As for foreign investment projects, the incentive equals to 0.2 percent of project value (only applicable business cooperation contract, 100 foreign-invested and joint venture) but the amount cannot exceed US$10,000 each project (payment in Vietnamese dong equivalent.)

What incentives does Soc Trang offer to investors when they do business here?

The province always creates the best conditions for investors to carry out their projects. It is also endeavouring to boost the transparency and simplicity of procedures and shorten the time needed to complete procedures. The provincial authorities host annual meetings with investors to seek solutions to difficulties and obstacles facing investors when they carry out their projects. The province also supports investors to attend trade fairs and exhibitions in Vietnam and other countries to introduce products, and seek business opportunities and business partners. It also improves the performance of business support services, especially legal support for businesses.

What are your plans for more investment capital in the coming time?

Soc Trang will advocate tapping local advantages. Thus, the province will focus on attracting projects for the following fields: agricultural, forestry and seafood processing; supporting industries; infrastructure development; trade; and tourism. To carry out its orientations, the province also applies the following solutions: Reforming and simplifying administrative procedures to create a good legal framework for investors; bettering land planning, compensation, site clearance and infrastructure construction; promoting vocational training in order to meet market demand; improving the quality of human resources; and improving the effectiveness of investment promotion and business development support.