What do businesses say about Nghe An's provincial competitiveness index?

(Baonghean.vn) -AfterVCCI announced the provincial competitiveness index in 2016. Some businesses spoke about the achieved index of Nghe An province.

» Nghe An rises 7 places on provincial competitiveness rankings

Mr. Nguyen Canh Nam.

Mr. Nguyen Canh Nam - Chairman of Nghe Tinh Business Association in Ho Chi Minh City:

The most important thing is still the person doing it.

With the index improving by 7 levels, it is a good thing, we congratulate Nghe An province on the results achieved. After many years of working in the province, I see that the leadership of Nghe An province in attracting investment and businesses is more open and positive.

However, to continue improving the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI), Nghe An province needs to be more determined to unify policies and actions. Once the provincial leaders have expressed their guiding viewpoints, departments and branches need to take strong action to achieve the set goals. To put it more closely, this story is like a family with a disciplined family tradition; the parents are exemplary, the policies are correct, and the children unanimously implement them.

Through monitoring, I see that some officials of departments and branches still work according to administrative hours without really being dedicated to completing all the work. Each job position, especially those that regularly contact businesses, need to clearly see that time is very valuable and need to reduce the need for businesses to travel a lot, or make repeated appointments in work. Finally and most importantly, it is still the implementer, because the policy has been approved, the provincial and branch leaders have given their opinions, so the officials directly handling it must be thorough and cheerful.

Mr. Tran Anh Son.

Mr. Tran Anh Son - Permanent Vice President and General Secretary of Nghe An Typical Business Association:

Enterprises highly appreciate the province's positive moves.

Nghe An's PCI ranking in 2016 reached its highest position ever, which is a positive sign from the provincial government. Recently, businesses have been very pleased with the province's monthly meetings and dialogues with businesses to promptly resolve difficulties for businesses. Businesses highly appreciate this positive move by the province. In addition, the government has also resolutely established an Investment Support Center under the province, reducing intermediaries to make it easier for businesses to invest in Nghe An. This shows that the government is actively supporting businesses and in fact, in recent years, the province's investment attraction results have changed very well.

To sustainably maintain the PCI ranking, I suggest that the land access index needs to be more transparent; our apparatus needs to be reformed more deeply, avoiding the situation of "clear at the top but not at the bottom". In addition, the legal aspect must be consistent, creating favorable conditions for investors. I think that out of the 10 indicators, 3 important indicators have an impact on the other indicators, which are the dynamism of provincial leaders, transparency and legality. If these 3 indicators are done well, I am sure that Nghe An's investment environment will be good.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Son. Photo: TH

Mr. Nguyen Hong Son - Director of Song Lam Water Supply Joint Stock Company:

Need consistency in investment attraction policy

Currently, we are operating a raw water supply system for clean water factories in Vinh city and investing in the construction of berths 5 and 6 of Cua Lo port. In the near future, we will invest in a biomass fuel plant with a capacity of 300,000 tons/year in Thanh Chuong.

Through the process of investing in and implementing projects, we see that Nghe An has changed a lot in attracting investment, administrative reform, and handling procedures quite quickly. However, the province needs to be more consistent in the process of attracting investment, there is still a situation where the policy is very good but the implementation process is overlapping, causing difficulties for investors. Large investors seem to have it easier, while small investors are still made difficult when implementing through departments and branches. That is also the reason why Nghe An's unofficial cost index is rated low. In addition, the coordination between departments and branches in handling procedures with investors is not really good, it needs to be closer and the province needs to pay attention to creating a safe environment for both large and small investors.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nam. Photo: TH

Mr. Nguyen Van Nam - Deputy Director of Nghe An Province Investment Promotion and Support Center:

The province's efforts have been recognized by the business community.

'Nghe An province ranked 25th, up 7 places compared to 2015; ranked second among the 6 provinces in the North Central region, after Thua Thien Hue. With a total score of 59.45, this is the highest position ever of Nghe An province. This result has partly recognized the business community for the province's leadership and direction, demonstrating the spirit of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc for an honest, creative and active Government.

According to the PCI index, the criteria for human resource training, market entry, transparency, and time costs are good and quite good. We still have 3 indicators that have not been improved in the past 3 years: informal costs, dynamism of provincial leaders, and fair competition. This requires that in the coming time, all levels of government of the entire political system, especially the leaders, must make more efforts. In addition, the province will also implement Decision 09 of the Prime Minister on the regulations for implementing the one-stop, one-stop mechanism at local state administrative agencies. Accordingly, all procedures related to the investment sector (for projects outside the economic zones and industrial parks) will be carried out by departments of the provincial Investment Promotion and Support Center. We hope that with that effort, PCI will be improved, and the investment environment of the province will also be better.'

Mr. Nguyen Duy Tuan. Photo: TH

Mr. Nguyen Duy Tuan - Independent economic expert, Former Head of VCCI Branch in Nghe An:

PCI assessments are important for both businesses and governments.

“The indicators that make up the PCI are designed to be actionable, allowing provincial officials to set goals and track progress. They are also practical because they are seen by businesses as key policies for business success.

After many years of monitoring the PCI index, I have found that PCI is very important for both businesses and the government; It guides the thinking of both the management object and the management subject. The announcement of PCI is also a bell that creates public opinion with two-sided impacts. For businesses, PCI is the most important tool for them to speak up and make their demands on the government; it is an opportunity for them to look to other provinces to find a more suitable investment environment. For the government, this is a measure showing the gaps that need to be filled in policies between design and implementation, between policy ideas and the demands of life, of businesses and people - the most important subjects that all policies must serve.

It is very gratifying that currently the assessment of enterprises on the component indexes in Nghe An has improved. However, currently the competition between localities is also very close, the province's score has improved but not really broken through. I would like to add the role of associations, although there are many business associations established in the province, the support for enterprises is still modest, mainly operating in the form of administrative procedures, not close to enterprises. To better maintain the PCI index in the coming time, the province, departments, localities, and associations must make more efforts, and provide more support for enterprises."

PV