Obstacles to investment hinder development.

(Baonghean) - The practical results of the recent reform process have convincingly demonstrated that not only at the national level but also at the provincial and city levels, the effective utilization of resources to attract foreign investment has a significant impact and a very large influence on the growth momentum and development speed of each locality, region, and the entire country.

Furthermore, the effectiveness of attracting and utilizing external investment resources has even become one of the indicators and measures to assess the level and capacity of localities, including the recognition and evaluation of the capacity of key leadership personnel, the efficiency of the public administration system, and administrative reform efforts for each locality, sector, and field.

2013 was considered a significant milestone marking strong transformations in both depth and breadth in Nghe An province's efforts to promote domestic and foreign investment. Cadres, Party members, and the general public expressed high expectations due to many positive signs in attracting investment, with many feeling that "the road ahead has opened" for Nghe An. These feelings and predictions were indeed well-founded, because despite the challenging global and domestic economic situation due to crisis and recession, Nghe An received the highest number of investor delegations from both domestic and foreign sources in 2013, including many well-known corporations from South Korea and Japan that are known for their commitment to delivering on their promises. Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Thailand, the United States, Hong Kong… and domestic corporations such as Hoa Sen, Becamex Binh Duong, Nguyen Kim, Vietnam Textile and Garment Corporation, FPT Group, Vinakansai, Samsung Group… Initial results recorded after a series of “shuttle” activities to countries and provinces/cities to call for and attract investment include the province granting investment certificates to 89 projects with a total registered capital of VND 13,752 billion (reaching 145.48% compared to 2012), of which 84 are domestic investment projects with a total registered capital of VND 13,309.69 billion and 5 are FDI projects with a registered capital of USD 21.08 million…

However, to truly build trust and gain strong persuasive power among investors, the smooth improvement of the investment and business environment, from the provincial leadership down to all levels, sectors, localities, and establishments, is equally important. In fact, it can be considered the decisive "counterpart," the remaining but crucial step in Nghe An's current investment attraction efforts. For a long time, there has been a comparison of investment attraction in our province: "rolling out the red carpet" at the top, but "scattering nails" and "sharp thorns" underneath. This comparison is somewhat harsh and exaggerated, but it is nonetheless a reality that we must bravely confront: in practice, it is not difficult to find complaints about inconveniences, harassment, lack of uniformity, and inconsistencies in the implementation of specific investment mechanisms and policies for each unit and enterprise. That's why there's a rhyme that says, "The superstructure may be clear, but the substructure is full of thorns and mines..."

Paintings by Pham Thi Ngoc Anh (168 Quoc Tuan Street - Phuoc Tan Ward - Nha Trang)

Therefore, strengthening the promotion, introduction, and attraction of investment needs to be carried out in parallel with a strong improvement in the environment and administrative procedures in implementing investment attraction mechanisms and policies. These should be considered two sides of the same coin in effectively attracting investment in the province. In a constructive spirit, there needs to be a more substantive commitment and sustained implementation, with regular, continuous, honest, and frank feedback between investors and leaders at all levels to jointly resolve issues, and even handle and discipline organizations and individuals that go against the macro-level investment attraction policies and specific commitments to bring in foreign investment resources effectively and sustainably.

To truly bring about a positive change in the investment and business environment, concrete measures are needed to identify and resolutely deal with those who cause trouble, harassment, and obstacles to investors for personal gain. Those who "lay nails" or "spread thorns" on the "red carpet" to attract investment, creating a bad reputation and negatively impacting the investment and business environment, should be considered obstacles to development. These are urgent tasks that those in charge need to pay close attention to and direct implementation. Investors should also assist the province in providing the identities of the places, locations, and individuals causing difficulties during the investment process, in order to truly create a healthy, dynamic investment environment for overall development.

Ngo Kien