Ben Tre Province's Financial Sector Promotes Investment Attraction

Handicraft products made of coconut in Ben Tre province

Ben Tre is a Mekong delta province with great potential for economic development. Recently, the provincial authorities have issued priority policies to attract investment capital from domestic and foreign sources, creating abundant financial sources for development business and production activities.

 

Promoting administrative reform

Ben Trersquo;s economy has changed for the better in the last five years with many newly established enterprises and enterprises expanding their activities. This is because Ben Tre has made great efforts to mobilise all its resources for economic development, thus generating incomes for the province to carry out major social programmes. The local financial service alone has reformed its administrative procedures, perfecting its mechanisms and apparatus. So far, its network has connected with the network of the Ministry of Finance. Statistics for management have been carried out with a high effectiveness. The Ben Tre Department of Finance has applied the ISO 9000 quality management standard and implemented a lsquo;one doorrsquo; mechanism. Also, the department has set up a financial service centre to provide information and consulting services on policies, public asset management, accounting and auditing, asset evaluation and auction. In particular, the Ben Tre Department of Finance has attached importance to training its staff members to successfully complete its administrative reform targets.

 

Over the past few years, the Ben Trersquo;s financial service has taken many measures to mobilise local resources, strengthening and developing its capital market to facilitate the meeting between those who have capital and those in need of capital. Regarding budget revenues, total revenues of the 2001-2005 period reached over VND 3,168.2 billion. Of this figure, revenues from taxes and costs account for 51.82 per cent and the addition from the centrally-run budget, 40.46 per cent. Annual average revenues of taxes and costs in the period were put at VND 328 billion, up by 15 per cent in comparison with 2000. In the 2006-2010 period, Ben Tre provincersquo;s total budget revenues are expected to reach over VND 4,481 billion with tax and cost revenues contributing 48.08 per cent, up 7.58 fold against 2000, and annual revenues of VND 432 billion.

 

Apart from budget revenues, Ben Tre has mobilised capital from Vietnamese and foreign enterprises, and local people. In the 2001-2005 period, the province mobilised VND 1,812 billion from Vietnamese enterprises, and VND 1,030 billion from foreign investment capital, let alone VND 830 billion from centrally-run enterprises and organisations. Total investment capital of enterprises in the period saw an increase of 8.6 fold, or 1.72 fold per year, on average. In the 2006-2010 period, to encourage local enterprises to promote their investment, the State should issue synchronous mechanisms and policies on capital mobilisation to create a legal corridor for enterprises to call for capital for development. Long-term loans should be promoted to help enterprises have capital to renew their equipment and technology. Total investment capital for the 2006-2010 period will increase by VND 4,000 billion, accounting for 20 per cent of total social investment. Ben Tre province has made further efforts to attract foreign investment capital by offering incentives and issuing priority mechanisms. Total investment capital of foreign-invested enterprises in the 2001-2005 period accounted for 10.2 per cent. This figure is expected to reach 15 per cent in the 2006-2010 period. Also, capital from centrally-run enterprises and organisations is very important, helping the province perfect its infrastructure facilities, including roads and irrigation works, and carry out economic development programmes, including the development of offshore fishing fleets, the building of fishing ports, and the development of aquaculture, as well as the building of export processing plants.

 

Capital allocation strategy

To complete its target of financial development for the 2006-2010 period, Ben Tre should prioritise its investment capital for programmes on industrialisation and modernisation of agriculture and rural areas to create a change in the structure of crops and animals, develop commodity-based production, plan areas for farming special rice varieties of high economic value and form concentrated industrial crop and fruit tree farming areas, as well as promote the development of animal husbandry. Also, Ben Tre will develop small-sized industrial establishments in rural areas, taking advantage of seasonal labour force and on-the-spot materials, and develop production and consumption services. Furthermore, the province will upgrade its existing industrial establishments, building more concentrated industrial parks to attract investment. The province will form a network of seafood processing establishments in order to promote the restructuring of agricultural production and rural areas. At the same time, co-operation will be expanded inside and outside the province to call for investment capital. Based on its existing potential, Ben Tre will develop aquaculture and fishing, forming a fishing support service network with ports and processing establishments, increasing the capacity of its offshore fishing fleets, applying modern technology to aquaculture to improve the quality and capacity, and protect the environment. The province will upgrade its road and irrigation networks, as well as its electricity supply system, promoting the implementation of its rural electrification programme and modernising local telecommunication network.