Nghe An innovates and creates in supporting and promoting investment.
(Baonghean.vn) - The Covid-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the socio-economic life of the country. In this context, the Nghe An Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Center (NAPC) has proactively approached, innovated, and created to both fulfill its assigned tasks and gradually adapt and prepare for the new normal.
Unprecedented difficulties and challenges.
Entering 2021, although we knew the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic would continue, no one imagined the situation would be even more severe.
"Previously, the Center typically provided consulting and support to 2-3 FDI investors and dozens of domestic projects each month. However, in 2021, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, domestic and international tourism promotion activities were temporarily suspended or restructured, resulting in fewer FDI investors coming to Vietnam and Nghe An in particular. Opportunities for Nghe An to introduce and market its advantageous industries that need to attract investment to the market and partners were minimized."
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| Proactive "3-in-1" production in VSIP Industrial Park. Photo: Tran Chau |
From the investors' perspective, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, investors, especially foreign direct investment (FDI), have had to change their production and business strategies. Instead of seeking opportunities at large investment forums, FDI investors are looking for investment opportunities through online channels or projects and investors that have already been established.
At the forumAttracting investment to Nghe AnTaiwanese investors shared that the biggest difficulty currently in finding investment locations is the lack of accessibility and on-site information, as pandemic prevention regulations are strict in every country. In Vietnam, the low vaccination rate makes it even more challenging. Meanwhile, Taiwanese investors know that Nghe An province has great potential in terms of real estate infrastructure and labor force, and the province is always committed to supporting investors, making it one of the preferred choices.
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| The VSIP Hung Nguyen industrial park, meeting green, clean, and modern criteria, will be highly attractive to large-scale investors. Photo: Nguyen Hai |
Proactively overcome difficulties and create breakthroughs.
The Covid-19 pandemic temporarily halted both domestic and international direct investment promotion conferences, but it also gave rise to a new trend: online investment promotion events. Beginning with online meetings and exchanges between the province and domestic investors, in mid-May, Nghe An province and the Ministry of Planning and Investment held their first online conference to promote and attract Taiwanese investors to Nghe An. Following this, with the coordination of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and various embassies, Nghe An also participated in online investment promotion conferences with Japanese investors in Vietnam and online conferences connecting and inviting investors from the Middle East to Vietnam.
Simultaneously, the province continues to maintain contact with other investors to support and guide them in preparing project documents, ensuring that the set schedule is met so that projects can be implemented immediately once the pandemic is under control and the situation returns to a new normal.
In addition to the above tasks, in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic making it difficult for new investors to conduct surveys and research, Nghe An prioritizes on-site consulting support to help existing investors in Nghe An plan to expand and scale up their projects. The advantage of on-site consulting is that investors are familiar with the procedures, making adjustments to increase capacity and expand investment projects extremely convenient. Typical examples include several large projects in Nghe An such as Goertek Vina, which, after completing the initial procedures for phase 1, decided to double its investment capacity. Hoang Thinh Dat Company, after completing the basic takeover of the Hoang Mai 1 Industrial Park infrastructure project, is now promoting investment in Hoang Mai 2 Industrial Park.
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| The Hemaraj Nghi Loc Industrial Park, Phase 1, has received basic infrastructure investment and is awaiting secondary investors. Photo: Nguyen Hai |
From 2020 to the present, despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, while the number of new projects has not been high, the number of projects expanding or adjusting their capital scale has increased rapidly. In addition to attracting a $200 million FDI project from Ju Teng Group (Taiwan) and the construction of an electronic component manufacturing plant in Hoang Mai 1 Industrial Park (investment certificate expected to be issued at the end of September), in the first eight months of 2021, the province granted licenses to 62 new projects and adjusted 95 projects with a total new and increased capital of VND 13,789.76 billion. Compared to the same period in 2020, the number of projects increased by 19%, and the total investment increased 3.33 times.
Besides attracting FDI, to enhance trade and tourism promotion, at the end of July, the Provincial People's Committee worked with and signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Vietnam Airlines Corporation for the period 2021-2025, granting each other incentives and support in tourism promotion and development. Currently, the province has worked with Mitsui Sumitomo Bank of Japan; and is connecting with and supporting major investors such as SunGroup Corporation, Nha Trang Bay Construction Investment Joint Stock Company, Zuru Group (New Zealand)... to accelerate progress and complete investment procedures in Nghe An as committed to the province.
Since the beginning of May, due to social distancing measures, work and projects could not be implemented according to plan. The NAPC Center directed its specialized departments to coordinate and work with districts and towns to build a database of information on investment promotion, trade, and tourism. The reason the Center had to take advantage of the social distancing period to update and complete investment promotion dossiers and data is because one of the shortcomings in attracting investment in our province is that project dossiers have only reached the stage of accessing planning maps and general land use plans provided by departments and agencies. |
| Car repair at Nghi Loc Industrial Cluster. Photo: Nguyen Hai |
To overcome these limitations, the Center is trying to assign each officer to be responsible for a project from start to finish. When approaching and promoting investment, they must have a thorough understanding of the information and documentation of each area intended for investment so that when investors ask questions, the officer in charge of the project can answer them immediately. For example, if the investor is a manufacturer of bulky, oversized, or overweight components and equipment, they must advise choosing an investment location near a seaport or an area with transportation infrastructure that does not have weight or height restrictions. Conversely, if the project requires a large workforce, they must recommend a location near a densely populated rural area; if the investor wants to hire local labor to build the factory, the consulting documents must include labor unit prices and the prices of key construction materials for the investor to refer to during the project planning process.
We believe that with this proactive approach and support for investors, investors will surely be satisfied, and Nghe An will score points to become one of the preferred locations for investment projects.
