Yen Bai Promotes Business Environment

Yen Bai province is stepping up administrative procedure reform, enhancing the capacity and responsibility of civil servants, mobilising resources for infrastructure development, and applying many incentives for investors, thus gradually building a modern administration and improving the business environment. Mr Do Duc Duy, Chairman of Yen Bai Provincial People’s Committee, shared with Vietnam Business Forum Magazine on this issue.

What do you think about the remarkable socioeconomic development results in the province last year?
In 2017, with the efforts of all-tiers of authorities, sectors and people, Yen Bai province achieved many remarkable results, with most socioeconomic targets being met or exceeded.

First of all, economic growth was quite good, highlighted by positive economic restructuring. Agro-forestry-fishery production continued to develop; agricultural and farmer support projects were implemented effectively; and major farming areas and key products were initially formed. Trade and service activities surged, with export value topping US$103.1 million, up 35.9 per cent; and budget revenue amounting to VND2,515 trillion, 22.7 per cent higher than the target set by the central and provincial authorities (VND2,050 billion). The industrial production value reached over VND9,000 billion, an increase of 11 per cent over 2016. The total social investment capital for development was VND10,188 billion, of which VND6,835 billion was non-State capital and VND444 billion was foreign direct investment (FDI). The province also gave priority to allocating resources worth VND384.6 billion to 10 key projects.

Investment promotion and attraction produced good results. In addition to seeing more projects (14 more projects) and investment capital (VND3,539 billion more), Yen Bai attracted a number of big projects like IC 12 Industrial - Commercial - Service - Urban Complex invested by Hoa Sen Yen Bai Joint Stock Company (VND2,730 billion); Golden House New Urban Area invested by Chan Thien My Joint Stock Company (VND4,943 billion); and US$220-million South Korean-invested Edge Glass electronic component production plant, which was built on February 3, 2018, scheduled to start production in April 2019, expected to create 1,500 jobs and pay a lot to the State Budget. These projects are expected to open a new wave of investment inflows in the coming time. The province now has 426 projects with a total investment capital of more than VND70 trillion.

The province also piloted investor selection forms where projects have land funds, carried out build-transfer, partnership and pooling investment projects, including a road connecting National Highway 32C with Au Co Street in Yen Bai City (VND412 billion); southern urban technical infrastructure in Yen Bai City (VND314 billion in first phase); and Nghia Lo Hospital (VND55 billion).

Along with positive cultural and social aspects, GDP per capita reached VND29.5 million in 2017. The province also stepped up administrative procedure reform, improved civil service regimes, streamlined the apparatus, and downsized the public staff.

The province focused on developing and carrying out master plans, development plans and sectors; concentrated on five key tasks and three groundbreaking steps to develop; prioritised resources for core fields and projects to create development motivations; and timely removed difficulties in production and business activities.

Yen Bai province has affirmed its great determination and strong commitments to supporting businesses and investors. How is this being deployed?
Over the past years, public administration reform has been consolidated to reduce the time required for handling administrative procedures. For example, business establishment needs fewer than two working days and needs 40-60 per cent less time to settling investment administrative procedures. All levels and branches transparently publicise administrative procedures, processes, modes, document components, charges and conditions at public reception bodies and their websites.

In 2016, the Yen Bai Provincial People’s Committee signed a contract with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) on improvement of business and investment environment and business development support to 2020 in accordance with Resolution 35/NQ-CP dated May 16, 2016, and issued Decision 1764/QD-UBND dated August 24, 2016, to materialise its tasks. The province surveyed and assessed the provincial, departmental and local competitiveness at 13 provincial departments and nine districts and cities in 2016, thus introducing solutions to raise the provincial competitiveness index (PCI) of each department, sector and locality. This will contribute to PCI improvement over the next few years.

The Provincial People’s Committee also instructed departments, branches and localities to advise on amendments and supplements to mechanisms and policies; reviewed and eliminated overlapping administrative procedures in different areas like issuing conditional business certificates, converting or transferring land-use rights, and granting land-use rights certificates.

Business support is placed a special priority. Every month, the Business Coffee Programme is held to enable local enterprises to meet, exchange experience and opportunities, seek solutions to hardships, and encourage them to scale up production and business. The Provincial People’s Committee also holds annual New Year conferences to meet business leaders to review and evaluate their operations and propose measures to egg on business development.

The province also promulgated Decision 1255/QD-UBND dated June 27, 2016, on the Action Plan on major tasks and solutions to improve the business environment and the provincial competitiveness in 2016 - 2017, with an eye to 2020, and Decision 529/QD-UBND dated April 4, 2017, on action programmes on implementation of Resolution 19-2017/NQ-CP of the Government dated February 6, 2017, on continued implementation of main tasks and solutions for better business environment and competitiveness in Yen Bai province in 2017, with a vision to 2020. The province’s objectives are enhancing operational quality, improving the business environment and raising competitiveness. Yen Bai province strives to have the PCI in the Top 30-40 in the country in 2018.

During the working visit to the province on February 3, 2018, the Prime Minister highly appreciated the potential and development of Yen Bai province and directed some requirements and tasks. Would you be kind enough to tell us something about this and how Yen Bai province will endeavour to materialise his directions?
During the working session in the province, the Prime Minister highly appreciated Yen Bai province’s result of attracting four foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in two years, which have advanced environment-friendly technologies. However, Yen Bai is still a poor province and its development level is incommensurate with the available potential. Some upland people and ethnic minorities are living in hardship and the infrastructure system is still inadequate. The business community is small and not many people in rural areas can move to non-farming industries.

The Prime Minister also instructed that Yen Bai has a lot of resources for development, especially tourism, high-tech agriculture and medicine. To support the province to tap its tourism potential, the Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to coordinate with the province to work out solutions to promote the image of Mu Cang Chai terraced fields, not only as a scenic landscape of the country but also as an international destination, thereby helping local people raise incomes.

To carry out his directions, Yen Bai has strongly socialised resources; transformed the economic structure, especially the agricultural structure to enhance commercial application, particularly cinnamon, tea and planted forest; developed human resources; created jobs for rural people; further improved the investment and business climate; and paid attention to culture, society, human resource training and ethnic minorities.

On the occasion of the Lunar New Year 2018 - Year of Dog, what do you have to share with investors and businesses who are investing and doing business in Yen Bai province?
On the occasion of the Lunar New Year, I commend contributions of businesses and investors to local development. Yen Bai province is always aware that the business community is an important factor contributing to socioeconomic development. Authorities at all levels held meetings and dialogues to listen to opinions and aspirations of investors and businesses in order to have appropriate solutions to further improve the investment environment.

Yen Bai province expects enterprises and investors to take initiative in production and business, share operating difficulties, constantly upgrade technologies to raise productive performance, strengthen business connectivity and promote social security. Yen Bai always invites and welcomes enterprises and investors to seek investment, production and business opportunities and further accompany local development.

Yen Bai province test-ran the Public Administration Centre in the first quarter of 2018 and planned to start official operation in 2020 in a bid to create unity and will of the political system in reforming public administration and governance, helping build a government of development facilitation, integrity and firm action for the people.”
The deployment of the Public Administrative Centre is a new way of carrying out the inter-agency single-window mechanism at specialised administrative agencies at the provincial level, change the service attitude of officials and civil servants in carrying out official duties, and ensure the most favourable conditions for people and businesses.