Vinh Phuc ranks among the Top 10 fastest-growing localities in the country, with its budget revenue placing 10th out of 63 provinces and cities. This achievement is largely credited to the province's proactive support for local businesses in overcoming challenges, fostering growth, and creating a more open and attractive investment environment.
Vinh Phuc province has implemented many measures to promote investment, attract businesses, and address business difficulties
To overcome their existing difficulties, businesses need consistent support solutions to survive and stand firm, including solutions to easing access to capital, cost reduction, preferential loan, and a better business climate to easily access the market. A series of government-business exchanges and meetings are always of special concern to provincial authorities.
According to the Department of Planning and Investment, in the first seven months of 2024, Vinh Phuc recorded 839 new businesses with a total registered capital of VND7,818 billion, reflecting a 3.3% decrease in the number of businesses but an 11.3% increase in capital year-on-year. 248 companies resumed operations, bringing the total to 1,087 active businesses.
Despite clear signs of strong recovery and active support from the government, many businesses continued to confront hardships. In particular, slowly recovered industries, narrowing import and export and stagnant property market forced them to scale down production or temporarily suspend their operations. In the past seven months, the province witnessed 851 companies leaving the market, including 745 suspensions, up 26.7%, and 106 bankruptcies, up 35.9%. In addition to common hardships, many companies and investors met challenges due to obstacles in investment procedures, mechanisms and policies, especially those in connection with land and construction. These gave rise to prolonged project progress and increased cost.
To unlock capital channels for businesses, Vinh Phuc organized a business-bank dialogue in early November. According to a report from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) - Vinh Phuc Branch, the banking sector has implemented many measures to support business operations and stimulate credit growth. These include reducing interest rates, publicizing lending rates and achieving credit growth targets set by the SBV. Additionally, efforts have been made to strengthen bank-business connections, introduce preferential credit packages tailored to different customer segments, simplify borrowing procedures and apply digital transformation to the credit granting process.
By September 30, credit institutions had lent VND56,438 billion to 3,208 businesses, accounting for over 41% of total outstanding loans, including 1,137 new loans worth VND19,300 billion for corporate customers through the bank-corporate connection program.
Particularly, the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), through its Vinh Phuc Branch and Phuc Yen Branch, slashed corporate lending rates by 1.5-2.5%, depending on the loan term, since the beginning of the year.
The lender credited VND11,463 billion to corporate customers as of the end of September 2024, including over VND1,700 billion of preferential loans for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), VND2,230 billion of short-term preferential loans for big companies, and VND524 billion for importers and exporters.
The province has facilitated access to bank loans for individuals and businesses, particularly those with strong business plans. The Vinh Phuc Provincial People's Committee has urged commercial banks to actively review and assess credit quality, address non-performing loans, and ensure the use of objective and accurate data.
Consistent with the philosophy “All investors in Vinh Phuc are citizens of Vinh Phuc”, the Provincial People's Committee has directed relevant agencies and localities to take resolute action, strengthen business dialogues, establish a working group to remove difficulties for businesses, improve the investment and business environment, and speed up administrative procedure reforms to motivate business development.
Since the beginning of the year, the province has issued many directive documents such as Action Program 66 of the Provincial Party Committee on execution of Resolution 41 of the Politburo on building and promoting the role of Vietnamese entrepreneurs in the new period, Action Plan for implementation of the Vinh Phuc SME Support Project in 2024, Document 1921 of the Provincial People's Committee on implementation of several tasks regarding investment promotion and attraction, business support and business troubleshooting.
Vinh Phuc leaders said that maintaining and creating a truly open investment environment is important. In the year to date, the Provincial People's Committee has organized dozens of working sessions and dialogues to remove difficulties for businesses, and applied flexible support forms, business support teams on Zalo groups of the Department of Planning and Investment and relevant agencies.
Vinh Phuc will continue its efforts to reform and enhance the quality and effectiveness of business support while strengthening connections with enterprises. The province aims to promptly identify and address business challenges by expanding the “Business Coffee Talk” Program and leveraging the Working Group of the Chairperson of the Provincial People's Committee, along with the Japan Desk and business associations from South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, and other economies.
By Bui Lien, Vietnam Business Forum
Vietnamese
