On May 18, Hai Duong People’s Committee held a conference to discuss the obstacles that foreign-invested enterprises face in the province, while simultaneously honouring them for their outstanding achievements.
Hai Duong is located in the centre of the northern delta. It is densely populated and boasts convenient transport infrastructure with its proximity to Noi Bai International Airport and Haiphong Port.
Local leaders have worked hard to facilitate enterprises that want to invest and do business there. Annual business dialogues are organised to discuss and tackle the difficulties that enterprises contend with.
For example, the one-door system has been applied to avoid involvement from multiple agencies and to help investors solve issues smoothly and promptly. However, some investors still face problems related to investment procedures, labour recruitment, transport infrastructure, and land clearance.
Kurihara Kiyokazu, general director of Sumidenso Vietnam Co., Ltd. said, “Human resources in the province are limited, which necessitates recruiting labour from other areas. However, this shortage has been a long-term concern, especially for highly qualified employees such as those with IT, foreign language, and automation skills.”
“The social housing system has not yet been developed enough to solve accommodation concerns for low-income staff and those from remote provinces. Besides this, the inter-district and interprovincial bus system does not meet demand to cover three shifts. This means numerous staff members have to go to work in their personal vehicle, which poses the risk of traffic accidents, especially at night,” Kiyokazu added.
Representatives from Vietory Co., Ltd., DSGlobal Vina Co., Ltd., Sumiden Vietnam, and Zhi Xing Vietnam also highlighted the difficulties they face in recruiting labour, including both skilled and unskilled employees. They have requested career service centres to support enterprises and allow them to connect with local people.
They stated that the human resource training system needs to closely follow actual demand, especially in the areas of machine repair, electronics, logistics, foreign languages, and the rapidly developing digital technologies.
Hai Duong authorities have committed to improving the local business and investment environment and creating better conditions for foreign-invested enterprises.
Speaking at the conference, Secretary of Hai Duong Party Committee Tran Duc Thang said the authorities will guide the relevant agencies to promptly deal with the obstacles businesses face.
“The focus will be on reforming administrative procedures, increasing access to different resources, promoting support services, enhancing the quality of dialogue with local businesses, and taking immediate action to tackle any issues,” he said. “When enterprises send their proposal dossiers to the provincial authorities, the departments will report back within a maximum of 15 days.”
The secretary stressed that overseas investment has played an important role in the socioeconomic development of the province. As such, Hai Duong People's Committee also honoured 24 foreign-invested enterprises for their outstanding achievements in the province at the event.
Widescale renovations needed for FIEs to thrive in Dong Nai Unfinished roads for industrial parks, dust pollution from airport construction, and lack of housing for on-site workers are just some of the difficulties facing foreign-invested enterprises in southern province of Dong Nai. |
Changes in labour market since Vietnam's Law on Foreign Investment The official passage of the Law on Foreign Investment in Vietnam in 1987 is considered a historic turning point that contributed to attracting an increasing number of foreign-led enterprises to the nation. Nguyen Xuan Son, operations manager for Staffing and Outsourcing Services at ManpowerGroup Vietnam, discusses the law’s effect on the labour market and employees in Vietnam, as well as the expected trends for the next few years. |
Fire safety regulation frustration lingers for FIEs Many foreign-invested enterprises are confused with the inconsistent regulations relating to fire prevention and safety, which may impact their factories’ construction and operation processes. |
Business visa procedure frustration rumbles on Inflexibility in the business visa policy is a major barrier to many foreign-invested enterprises operating their factories in Vietnam. |
What the stars mean:
★ Poor ★ ★ Promising ★★★ Good ★★★★ Very good ★★★★★ Exceptional