Kien Giang Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Center has flexibly launched innovative and diversified investment promotion and business support of higher quality since the complicated and prolonged fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thereby, the province has been successfully attracting more and more businesses and investors.
Flexibly reforming and improving investment promotion
Ms. Nguyen Duy Linh Thao, Director of Kien Giang Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Center, said that the complicated development of the COVID-19 pandemic has substantially affected investment, trade and tourism promotion plans in 2021. The most affected conventional events are international fairs and exhibitions, which have been postponed and likely canceled this year. Tourism service businesses have seen revenue contraction.
In this difficult context, the center has actively carried out innovative investment promotion to surmount current difficulties to produce good outcomes with various suitable forms. The center has hosted online government - foreign business conferences (with investors from India, Singapore, South Korea and other countries) using Zoom and Google Meet applications. It has also improved localized investment promotion by taking care of existing investors and enterprises in the course of investment and business operations. It has provided information and support for businesses and investors via the website, phone, email, social network and online meeting applications; supported potential investors; provided information on investment incentive policies and investment projects on the website www.kiengianginvest.com; and published various kinds of publications in many languages in the press and on television.
With these efforts, the province witnessed significant improvement in investment promotion results in the first six months of 2021 (five new projects registered to invest VND622 billion and hired 17.37 ha of land, thus reaffirming that Kien Giang is a safe and attractive destination for investors.
To enhance investment promotion outcomes, Kien Giang Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Center has coordinated with the Department of Planning and Investment to review the list of projects seeking investment funds in the province in the 2021-2025 period; worked with relevant agencies and localities to guide and support investors to learn and survey these projects.
In addition, the center actively worked with the Kien Giang Economic Zones Authority to attend the Vietnam Industrial Development Investment Pavilion at Vietnam Expo 2021, organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Hanoi. Taking this opportunity, the center joined in the "Vietnam Investment Promotion" Talkshow to introduce Kien Giang's policies, priority areas and investment environment to embassies of Malaysia, Mexico, Turkey, Russia, Greece, the Netherlands, Romania, Argentina, South Korea and other countries. It joined with the Department of Planning and Investment to participate in the Online Workshop “Restarting investment promotion in Vietnam after COVID-19” organized by Venable Management Services in collaboration with the Consulate General of India in Ho Chi Minh City in mid-July.
In addition, Kien Giang Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Center provided investment promotion data to KOREA DESK under the Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) at the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade to introduce project projects and commercial products of the province through the electronic newsletter channel and website of KOTRA. At the same time, the center collaborated with KOTRA and the Center for Industry and Trade Development Investment Promotion under Viettrade to work out a plan to open an investment promotion training course for Mekong Delta provinces and cities and call for South Korean investors into industrial parks.
Following the direction of the Provincial People's Committee, the center also cooperated with relevant bodies and localities to organize successful PCI analysis conferences in 2020; and coordinated with Kien Giang business associations and local authorities to introduce the PCI Index to the business community.
In the coming time, to strictly carry out measures to prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kien Giang Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Center will further focus on practical and effective investment attraction solutions; solve difficulties and speed up investment progress to soon bring projects into operation and thus contribute to local economic growth.
Promoting government - business connectivity
In the first six months of 2021, Kien Giang province had 745 new companies with a total registered capital of VND13,926 billion, up 24% in enterprises and 2.2 times in value from a year ago. This positive signal indicated that local business in is gradually recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic impacts.
Director Nguyen Duy Linh Thao said that Kien Giang is one of the provinces with the largest number of businesses in the Mekong Delta. The province’s business community has contributed greatly to local economic growth. Thus, accompanying and supporting businesses has always been an important part of the province's promotion activities.
In order to create an enabling environment for enterprises, the Kien Giang Provincial People’s Committee has effectively enforced the Law on Enterprises, the Law on Investment, the Law on Supporting Small and Medium Enterprises and other laws; created an important legal basis for agencies and localities to synchronously and effectively implement policies on business development support and assign specific tasks to each relevant unit to carry out this task.
To provide more favorable conditions for businesses, Kien Giang province has actively reviewed and simplified administrative procedures for business registration and investment registration; effectively applied the single-window process for handling administrative procedures on enterprise registration; reduced the time of carrying out procedures for new business registration to 1.5 days and revised business procedures to one day. In order for enterprises to work effectively, the province has carried out consistent support solutions and measures to promptly deal with difficulties and obstacles, create favorable conditions for enterprises to stabilize production and business, and overcome the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. For importers and exporters, the province supports strengthening trade promotion, expanding markets, and promptly removing difficulties for easier merchandise export, especially key products of the province. In addition, the province has strengthened inspections and strictly handled acts of harassment of public employees deliberately hindering enterprises to deal with administrative procedures; and intensified market control, combatting smuggling, trade fraud, counterfeiting and knockoffs to protect enterprises.
Following the direction of the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee, the Kien Giang Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Center has also carried out many support solutions to develop enterprises, expand consumer markets and assist startups. It has attended trade fairs, exhibitions, investment and tourism events in the country; organized trade business connection events to bring local products into supermarkets; and regularly updated product information of local enterprises on the center's website (kitra.com.vn) and Kien Giang province’s e-commerce portal (kiegiangpromotion.vn). The center has introduced and popularized OCOP, trade and tourism products on the mass media; issued publications on key local products. Both direct and indirect activities have helped businesses introduce their products and have more opportunities for business and cooperation.
In addition, as a bridge for governmental agencies and businesses, every year, the center is assigned by the Provincial People's Committee to work with relevant agencies to collect recommendations and feedback from businesses to advise the Provincial People's Committee on solutions to emerging and existing hardships.
The top goal of the Kien Giang Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Center, realized by specific programs and actions, is to create breakthrough progress, improve investment promotion outcomes, and support businesses, thus increasing the magnetism for investment into the province. The center will also make more efforts to foster its role and make Kien Giang an ideal environment where businesses can grow well, integrate successfully and develop sustainability, she emphasized.
Cong Luan (Vietnam Business Forum)
Vietnamese
