To make Vinh city become the financial and banking center of the region

Strong development in infrastructure, trade and services

After nearly 10 years of implementing Resolution 26 of the Politburo,Vinh cityhas made quite comprehensive progress in all fields. The growth rate is higher than the average of the province, in the period of 2014-2021, reaching 6.36%/year (in the period of 2014-2019 it reached 9.02%).

GRDP per capita in 2021 reached 107.8 million VND. The economic structure shifted in a positive direction. Annual budget revenue in the 2014-2021 period reached 10.1%/year (in the 2014-2019 period it reached 12.95%).

Total annual development investment capital increased by 9.84%. The poverty rate decreased to 0.53%. The city completed the National Target Program on New Rural Development in 2016. The first-class urban indicators on technical infrastructure were improved, the urban appearance had many improvements, urban planning developed in a civilized and modern direction; urban infrastructure achieved many positive results.

The cultural and social sectors continued to develop and create significant changes. The city has put into operation a night walking street, attracting the participation of the people and tourists.

Vinh City is developing strongly in infrastructure, trade and services. Photo: Nguyen Sach

The city's budget revenue in 2021 was quite good at 2,503.2 billion VND. In terms of trade and services, the city is quite developed.

In 2021, the value of service and trade production reached 24,174 billion VND with more than 6,430 enterprises operating in this field. In particular, the trend of small and medium enterprises developing rapidly, the service, trade and construction sectors account for a high proportion, the manufacturing sector accounts for a low proportion. In the city, there are currently 12 commercial centers; 14 supermarkets; 28 traditional markets: 2 class I markets, 4 class II markets, 13 class III markets, 9 unclassified markets.

Regarding banking and finance, Vinh city currently has 38 credit institutions and credit institution branches operating safely, effectively and firmly, with various types (State Commercial Banks, Joint Stock Commercial Banks, Policy Banks, People's Credit Funds), meeting the demand for banking services.

The quality of products and services is increasingly diversified, abundant and of higher quality, gradually providing effective support for production, business and service activities of units, enterprises and people in the province and region, contributing to stabilizing the city's economy.

Vinh walking street is gradually becoming a highlight for tourism and services. Photo: Quang An

As of December 31, 2021, the total mobilized capital in the area reached 175,467 billion VND, an increase of 15,312 billion VND compared to the beginning of the year, equal to 9.6%; the total outstanding debt of credit institutions in the area reached 242,614 billion VND, an increase of 16,584 billion VND compared to the beginning of the year, equal to 7.3%, ranking first in the North Central region in terms of mobilization and outstanding debt; ranked 6th in the country in terms of capital mobilization and 4th in terms of outstanding loans, the bad debt ratio always maintained at a low level: 0.6%.

The development of the banking service network continues to be consolidated and developed, and cashless payments in the area continue to be promoted according to the Project on Developing Cashless Payments for the period 2021 - 2025.

There is also a branch of the Deposit Insurance of the North Central region in the area, coordinating with the State Bank in supervising the safety of credit institutions and 20 enterprises operating in the insurance sector. Banking activities are always safe, effective, and stable with a variety of types; however, to become a regional center, there are still concerns.

To make Vinh a financial and banking center in the future

After 10 years of implementing Resolution 26, the goal of building Vinh city into a regional financial and banking center is not really clear.

The first difficulty is due to the outstanding development of some provinces in the region, typically Thanh Hoa and Ha Tinh.

Thanh Hoa's budget revenue in the first 6 months of the year reached 26,000 billion, ranking 7th in the country and leading the 14 coastal provinces in the Central region. This figure in Nghe An was 10,000 billion, which shows that Thanh Hoa's economy has made a breakthrough, especially in large projects.

The second difficulty is that Nghe An is still far from the country's major financial and economic centers, and there are still barriers in general socio-economic development, which in turn affects Vinh city.

Sparkling, modern Vinh City. Photo courtesy: Nguyen Book

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hai - Director of the Department of Finance said that the implementation of building Vinh city into a financial and banking center according to Resolution 26 still has difficulties because it depends on many objective conditions. That is, it depends on the banks themselves, investment infrastructure, and resources are all implemented by the banks themselves based on the assessment of potential and development advantages. Sometimes it is difficult for the government to intervene and requires the role of businesses and credit institutions.

Regarding this issue, Mr. Tran Ngoc Tu - Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, Chairman of the City People's Committee said that Vinh city has made remarkable progress in all aspects, which can be said to be thanks to Resolution 26. The Resolution has elevated Vinh's position, identifying Vinh as one of the 10 centers of the region, including a financial and banking center. From this fundamental Resolution, the Prime Minister has issued decisions as a legal basis for the city's development. These are Decisions 239/2015, 2468, 2015, especially Decision 827 of 2020 implemented until 2023 of the Prime Minister approving the Project on Developing Vinh city, Nghe An province into an economic and cultural center of the North Central region until 2023 in the spirit of Resolution No. 26-NQ/TW of the Politburo. Thus, it can be said that Resolution 26 has great significance and role for Nghe An in general and Vinh city in particular.

After 10 years of implementation, in Vinh City, some fields such as: Trade, services, tourism, science - technology, healthcare, education and training, information technology have formed regional center elements.

Mr. Tran Ngoc Tu added that the task of building Vinh City into a financial and banking center of the region must continue and can be done. First of all, planning must be done well, with the leading role of the government. Nghe An in general and Vinh City in particular have been developing strongly in infrastructure, industry, trade, and tourism. The strong development in which direction depends on the role and vision of the leader when creating a favorable, safe, and attractive business environment and investment attraction environment.

"Currently, the city has many real estate projects, is strongly developing in trade and services, and is resolutely implementing Decision 827/2022 of the Prime Minister, including the task of expanding Vinh urban area to include Cua Lo town and some communes of Hung Nguyen and Nghi Loc. When Vinh city grows, its scale is expanded, and the necessary conditions are available, striving to become a regional center in a certain field will be more favorable."

Mr. Tran Ngoc Tu - Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, Chairman of Vinh City People's Committee.

Currently, Vinh city is implementing the Priority Infrastructure Project and Urban Development Adapting to Climate Change in Vinh city, Nghe An province, with World Bank loans and other important projects.

Panorama of VSIP Industrial Park. Photo: Tran Chau

For Nghe An, the strong development of industry and agriculture in recent times, attracting large investors to invest in construction and infrastructure business such as VSIP Industrial Park, WHA, Hoang Mai I creates the premise to attract secondary projects, many large-scale FDI projects in the field of electronic components manufacturing such as Luxshare - TCT (140 million USD); Goertek (500 million USD), Ju Teng (200 million USD), Everwin (200 million USD) ... appear the need of investors to have better financial and banking services in the area.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Viet - Director of a large construction enterprise in the city said that the connection of enterprises with banks is very regular and continuous and recently the service activities of banks in Vinh city have been very good.

Nghe An's Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) is improving. Compared to other provinces in the North Central region, Nghe An's PCI is always in the top: 1st in 2017, 2018, 2019; 2nd in 2016 and 2020; 3rd in 2021 (after Thua Thien Hue and Ha Tinh).

These are also favorable conditions for Vinh city to better perform its role as a regional center in all aspects when qualified. In addition, with the strong development of telecommunications infrastructure and information technology in the context of digital financial services and digital business, it will also better support investors, including financial investors./.