Considering that investment capital is an important resource to accelerate growth and economic restructuring, for many years, Long An province has worked to create a healthy investment environment for social - economic development, and toward 2020, Long An will become a sustainable industrial developing province as targeted in the general social - economic development scheme toward 2020, with vision to 2030 ratified by the Prime Minister. The interview with Mr Nguyen Minh Ha, Director of Planning and Investment Department will clarify province’s determination. Thanh Tam reports.
Situated among developing provinces and cities like Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong province, what solutions has Long An identified to create a different and attractive environment for investors?
Long An shares border with Ho Chi Minh City, Tay Ninh and Dong Thap provinces, to the northwest it has a border with Cambodia of 133 km, belonging to Mekong Delta River granary, with average yield 2.7 million of tonnes of rice annually, Long An also has developing industry, services of key economic region in the South of the country (GDP is estimated to be USD 1.3 billion annually). Furthermore, Long An plays a role of connecting the East and West of the South, located in a region with strongly developing provinces, cities like Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong and Dong Nai. From these advantages, the province has identified particular solutions for creating different and attractive environment for investors.
Based on this determination, leaders of the province strive to implement their duties of “Accompanying enterprises”. The province always works to reform procedures in a transparent and public way with mechanism of “centralisation” and “connection” among authorities, prioritise constructing and developing infrastructure supporting industrial and agricultural development. For investors, Long An guarantees to accompany with enterprises to immediately and promptly handle with difficulties in investment procedures and business activities, facilitating conditions for investors to reach the highest efficiency.
Relating to investment orientation, Long An prioritizes attracting domestic and foreign high quality projects, contributing to sustainable development, focusing on advertising images of the province to public. The province commits to provide appropriate infrastructure, strengthening logistics activities for development demands of investors. Apart from that, province will improve capacity of administrative authorities, preferential policy, management capacity, investment promotion, programme for foreign direct investment attraction from potential investor; usually implements promotion programmes, calls on investment from potential ones; so attracting more and more capital for social - economic development goals.
With the slogan “Accompanying investors, considering enterprises’ difficulties like its difficulties”, Long An province has chosen innovative solutions that improve investment environment, focusing on procedure reform. Can you tell more about this?
The province always suggests solutions to improve the investment environment with a focus of reforming procedures, shortening time and supportive activities for enterprises. Besides that, province also listens to enterprises’ complaints, and quickly providing solutions for their safe investment.
In the coming time, province will keep reviewing processes to ensure timely implementation of legal regulations of enterprises in provincial departments, branches, industries and People’s Committee of provinces and districts and Tan An City to adjust to suit the actual situation. Currently, most provinces have implemented a “one - door” mechanism in receiving and solving administrative procedures, creating favourable conditions for people and enterprises. Administrative procedures are publicly posted in departments. Moreover, information is continuously updated in units’ websites.
The one door and connected one door mechanism is one of the outstanding achievements of administrative reform. In connected one door mechanism, individuals, organisations and enterprises come to relevant authorities just twice (once for applying and once for receiving full administrative documents); simple procedures, no time -consuming processes, less trouble and more agreement. Moreover, the province well implements improvement of responsibility, professional ethics of staff, officers, as well as innovates effective, scientific working methods.
Currently, Long An is implementing the socio - economic strategy to become an industrial developing province by 2020. To realize that target, what direction is the province following to attract investment, and fully exploit potentials and advantages?
After 2 years of implementation, General Plan of socio - economic development of Long An province by 2020, prospect to 2030 has been approved by the Prime Minister in Decision 1439/QD - TTg dated October 3rd, 2012. The plan targets that by 2020, Long An will have basically become a sustainable industrial developing province. One of the largest targets of the province is to promote investment attraction in order to fully exploit its advantages and potentials through detailed measures. Firstly, the province will try maintaining its annual provincial competitive index in the good group or better, aiming to create a fair competitive environment and conditions for enterprises of every field. The highlight is that in 2013, the province will issue a decision on procedures for receiving and managing off - budget projects outside industrial zones with Department of Planning and Industry as a model.
Secondly, the province will continue reviewing projects, pushing investment progress, working with enterprises to encourage, support them to overcome difficulties, promoting production and trading.
Thirdly, the province will invest in completing infrastructure, especially transport, electricity, water and communication to serve industrial development, ensure conditions for investment projects to operate effectively.
Currently investors, especially Japanese ones, are very interested in industries or industrial projects of new, environment - friendly technology. So what favourable conditions does the province offer to attract investment into these industries?
With the motto “trustful partners, stability, sustainable development”, the relation between Vietnam and Japan in general, Long An and Japanese provinces and cities in particular has been continuously developing for the last years. As a result, by now there are 60 Japanese projects invested in Long An with total capital of nearly USD 274 million.
As for favourable investment conditions, Long An, like other provinces, is implementing regulations of the Government. But the province targets to minimize the time of realizing procedures compared to general regulations, as well as minimize travel times for investors, that also means reduced cost of time and effort when conducting administrative procedures to create a friendly and trusted environment for investors.
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