A new breakthrough in attracting investment.

(Baonghean) - In recent years, Nghe An has identified attracting investment as the main driving force for the socio-economic development of the locality; thereby significantly improving the investment and business environment; focusing on attracting investors, corporations, and large groups with strong brands from both domestic and foreign countries to invest in the area. At the same time, the success of businesses and investors when investing and doing business in the province is considered a shared success in the socio-economic development...

A consistent and unified viewpoint in the provincial leadership's direction and management has been set forth: "For Nghe An to achieve rapid, comprehensive, and sustainable economic development, and to soon become a relatively prosperous province in the Northern region, the task of significantly improving the investment environment, focusing on attracting domestic and foreign investment, prioritizing the development of industries with high scientific and technological content and high added value; developing supporting industries, clean industries, energy-saving and environmentally friendly industries,... is both a top political priority and a breakthrough solution that needs to be prioritized for implementation in the coming period."

Construction of Nghi Thiet port bridge. Photo: CL

The investment attraction results of 2016 are concrete evidence supporting the above statements. The entire province granted licenses to 141 new projects, with a total investment capital of 35,441 billion VND. Among these, many large-scale projects using high technology have become operational and effective, creating numerous jobs and contributing significantly to the state budget, such as: the MDF wood factory of Thang Nam Forestry Joint Stock Company; the two Hoa Sen Steel Sheet factories of Hoa Sen Group; the Song Lam 1 and Song Lam 2 Cement factories of The Vissai Cement Group; the animal feed factory; the beef and breeding cattle farms and the Masan Northern Food Technology Center of Masan Group; the Mavin AustFeed animal feed factory of Mavin Group; the Hi-Tex garment factory from South Korea; the chain of more than 10 hotels of Muong Thanh Group; the Vinpearl Cua Hoi hotel, entertainment and resort complex of Vingroup, etc.

In particular, the VSIP Nghe An Industrial, Urban and Service Zone project of the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park Joint Venture Company Limited and the WHA Hemaraj Industrial and Urban Zone project in the Southeast Economic Zone of the joint venture between Hemaraj Group (Thailand) and Construction Corporation No. 4 are being urgently implemented.

In addition, the province has focused on investing in and upgrading many important infrastructure projects such as airports, seaports, transportation, electricity, water, and telecommunications, to continue providing the best support for investors to effectively implement projects in the province.

The province's investment promotion strategy for 2017 focuses on attracting high-tech industrial projects, supporting industries, electronic component manufacturing, and smart software and service products; and investment projects in high-tech agriculture. It also emphasizes in-depth, modern investment and improved management efficiency for mineral extraction and processing projects, while protecting natural resources and the environment. Furthermore, it aims to develop the electricity and water production and distribution industries in a modern direction.

The focus is on developing the Southeast Economic Zone into a multi-sectoral, multi-functional economic zone worthy of being a key national coastal economic zone, with the core being attracting secondary investors to the VSIP Nghe An Industrial, Service and Urban Zone; and the WHA Hemaraj Industrial and Urban Zone within the Southeast Economic Zone. The goal for 2017 is to attract over 100 investment projects to Nghe An province with a registered capital of 30,000 - 35,000 billion VND, primarily focusing on attracting FDI of approximately 10,000 - 12,000 billion VND, creating new jobs for around 13,000 - 15,000 workers.

To achieve the above objectives, Nghe An province has made significant changes in mindset and adopted groundbreaking new approaches in attracting large, reputable domestic and foreign investors. It has provided full and timely access to investment incentives from the central and local governments, and has gradually reviewed and built up a clean land fund to be ready for allocation to investors when needed.

Simultaneously, develop investment promotion plans and programs that closely align with the industry, sector, and geographical areas targeted for investment attraction. Focus on training human resources and high-quality personnel for large-scale projects in the province. Build a professional team of investment promotion and support staff through the establishment of an Investment Promotion and Support Center under the Provincial People's Committee. Create a favorable investment and business environment to foster enterprise development, placing enterprises at the center of development, building a service-oriented, constructive, and honest administrative apparatus that truly stands alongside and accompanies enterprises, and effectively promoting on-site investment so that investors can confidently conduct production and business effectively and sustainably in Nghe An.

Nguyen Van Nam

(Deputy Director of the Nghe An Investment Promotion and Support Center)