Vinh Long holds promise for investors

Lu Quang Ngoi

What are the expectations of provincial leaders through the upcoming Vinh Long investment promotion conference 2019?

With this significant event, Vinh Long wishes to receive practical input from experts, investors, and businesses through presenting breakthrough measures helping the province to improve the local investment and business climate, as well as suggestions and comments on our policies, regulations, and the investment wish-list, paving the way for us to build up a pro-business investment environment in the province.

We expect the upcoming event will contribute to helping the province further appeal to investors, push up agricultural sector restructuring, provide a catalyst for industrial development, while in the meantime gearing trade and services sectors towards modernisation and sustainable development.

The event is also expected to help Vinh Long effectively avail of diverse resources for investment development, particularly in local infrastructure, agriculture, industry, and trade and services for successful implementation of social and economic development targets set in the province’s Resolution of the 10th Party Congress for the 2015-2020 tenure.

Vinh Long hosted a similar large-scale conference and the province counted several hundred million US dollars in total committed capital. How have those projects been developing?

At the Vinh Long investment promotion last March, the largest ever in the province, 32 projects were registered to invest in the province valued around VND23.9 trillion ($1.04 billion) in total committed capital. As of now, eight projects have come on stream, six others have kicked-off construction, and five projects are finalising investment procedures to commence construction with total value of about VND6.12 trillion ($266 million).

Twelve other projects valued at VND16.68 trillion ($725 million) with memoranda of understanding signed at the event are in the legal setup phase and will soon receive investment certificates.

After the event last year, Vinh Long hailed diverse investor groups coming to the province in quest for business opportunities. As of May this year, the province has granted investment proposal approvals and certificates to 22 more projects worth VND4.56 trillion ($198 million) in total committed capital. Of those, two projects have come online, five others commenced construction, and the remaining 15 projects are in legal setup stage.

Until present, Vinh Long is home to 242 valid projects registered at around VND25.6 trillion ($1.1 billion) and $641 million. Of them, foreign-invested projects number 63 which have led to a 13.74 per cent jump in the provincial index of industrial production compared to last year’s similar period which stood at 9.14 per cent, propelling the provincial economic development.

This signifies a constant ­improvement in the province’s investment and business ­landscape. What are the major highlights?

In light of the Provincial Competitiveness Index ranking 2018 which was released by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vinh Long ranked eighth among 63 cities and provinces nationwide, continuing to champion a high ranking and placing fourth among 13 localities in the Mekong Delta.

This is a testament to the province’s strenuous efforts in reforming local administrative procedures and bettering the investment environment, demonstrating high commitment of provincial leaders to push up investment attraction and economic development.

Besides common state policies, Vinh Long has enacted timely mechanisms and policies to aid investors and lists of major ventures for funding attraction in each development period to increase comfort to investors doing business in the province.

Under the motto ‘local government walking in step with the business community and serving people through dynamic and efficient management’, provincial leaders and authorised agencies have paid due heed to administrative procedure reform and business support.

We have invested in building a comprehensive IT infrastructure and setting up a public administrative service centre to help businesses save time and cost, facilitating them to boost their projects in the province. 

What sectors has the province prioritised for investment ­attraction?

One of top investment priorities in the province is to attract investment into fields and areas matching the province’s development orientations that are suitable to new investment trends and are highly feasible. We focus on attracting investment into building infrastructure for planned industrial zones and clusters, hi-tech ­agriculture, agricultural items processing and tourism development, among others.