Final article: How to choose the right person for the job?
Developing industrial parks has proven to be the right direction in the era of economic openness, creating momentum for the province's development. However, for the Nam Cam Industrial Park to truly achieve the desired results, in addition to favorable mechanisms, the key step begins with identifying investors and effectively managing the "post-licensing" process.
(Baonghean)Developing industrial parks has proven to be the right direction in the era of economic openness, creating momentum for the province's development. However, for the Nam Cam Industrial Park to truly achieve the desired results, in addition to favorable mechanisms, the key step begins with identifying investors and effectively managing the "post-licensing" process.
In addition to incentives stipulated by the Government, such as the Investment Law, the Enterprise Law, the Corporate Income Tax Law, the Import-Export Tax Law, and Prime Minister's Decision No. 85/2007/QD-TTg, investment projects in the Nam Cam Industrial Park also enjoy specific incentives issued by the province under Decision No. 02/2010/QD-UBND dated January 7, 2010, of the People's Committee of Nghe An province. Clearly, the province has made efforts to create a favorable policy environment with strong incentives for investors, but due to subjective and objective reasons, too many projects are operating at a slow pace or not proceeding with investment. Some businesses face difficulties due to the economic crisis and input/output challenges; some have limited financial capacity; and others are taking advantage of the province's investment incentive policies, such as not having to pay land rent for many years (land rent exemption for 11, 15, or even 20 years), thus holding onto the land.
Mr. Phan Xuan Hoa, Deputy Head of the Southeast Economic Zone Management Board, expressed his frustration, stating that the leniency of the Law has created loopholes for some investors to circumvent regulations. Mr. Hoa cited an example: previously, investors had to undergo financial capacity verification before registering for land leases. However, the amended Investment Law of 2006 stipulates that only projects with investment capital exceeding 300 billion VND require assessment. This means that projects with capital under 300 billion VND can easily register for land leases, and investors in the Nam Cam Industrial Park mostly have capital below 200 billion VND, or even just a few tens of billions. Therefore, according to the Law, permits must be issued, resulting in stalled projects and widespread clandestine transfers, causing public outrage.
The phenomenon of land hoarding and "claiming" land without implementing projects not only wastes land resources and sets a bad precedent, but the obvious lesson is the loss of several investors interested in investing in large projects in Nam Cam due to the lack of available land. This was the recent case of Tien Phong Plastic Company (Hai Phong), which wanted to expand its investment market in the Central region with a factory and chose Nam Cam as the location, but after finding no available space, turned to Thanh Hoa. Similarly, Viet Trung Joint Stock Company, currently operating efficiently in Zone C, wanted to expand its factory's capacity from 25,000 m³/year to 80,000 m³/year, creating jobs for hundreds of workers and generating approximately 20 billion VND per year for the local budget. To implement the factory upgrade plan, besides the challenge of developing a raw material supply area, the crucial issue is securing land for expansion and the installation of additional equipment. While Vietnam and China are struggling to find land for expansion, many projects are abandoned, with hundreds or thousands of square meters of land not being used properly!
The hoarding of land has led to numerous meetings between the relevant parties, even prolonged litigation. For example, on September 14th, the Management Board of the Southeast Economic Zone had to hold a single day-long meeting with each investor (Hoa Ky Trading Joint Stock Company, Viet Thanh Mineral Joint Stock Company, Toan Thang Packaging Joint Stock Company, Trang Hai Seafood Processing Company Limited, and Thai Hong Trading and Service Company) to discuss solutions.
"We are determined to revoke licenses for projects that deliberately delay investment," was the opinion of the leaders of the Southeast Economic Zone Management Board. This was also the guiding principle of the Provincial Party Standing Committee during a meeting with the Board on the development of the Southeast Economic Zone and Nghe An Industrial Parks in the 2011-2015 period: "Urgently and resolutely handle projects that are delayed, prolonged, have not invested, or are occupying land for transfer... in accordance with the law and the reality in Nghe An." (Notice No. 323-TB/TU dated September 6, 2011, of the Provincial Party Standing Committee)
When attracting investment, we create the most favorable conditions for investors, but we lack mechanisms to bind them to commitments with project management agencies, and we lack sanctions and measures to screen investors with poor financial capacity. This shows just how difficult it is to identify investors with sufficient financial capacity and choose wisely. It is time for the State to elevate the legal status, functions, and authority of the management boards of industrial parks and economic zones. Only then can these management boards better perform their inspection and post-audit work on businesses.
Thu Huyen
