Attracting investment creates momentum for rapid and sustainable development.

(Baonghean) - The Spring of the Year of the Goat (2015) marks the 7th year that the Conference to Meet Investors has been solemnly co-organized by Nghe An province, the Party Committee of the Central Business Bloc, and the Vietnam Investment and Development Bank (BIDV). Through these meetings, many projects in various fields have been implemented and invested in, yielding effective results and creating a strong shift in the province's economic structure. On the occasion of the Conference, Comrade Ho Duc Phoc, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, granted Nghe An Newspaper an interview on this matter…

Visiting the Plywood Processing and Export Company (Nam Cam Industrial Zone - Vinh City). Photo: Sy Minh

Reporter:Dear Party Secretary of the Provincial Committee! How do you assess the significance of the annual Spring Investor Meeting that has been held in Nghe An since the Spring of the Year of the Ox (2009)?

Comrade Ho Duc Phuoc:The New Year Investor Meeting has become an annual tradition, co-organized by Nghe An province, the Party Committee of the Central Business Bloc, and the Vietnam Investment and Development Bank (BIDV), starting from the Year of the Ox. Since then, each New Year's Day, the meeting has become an investment festival in the homeland of President Ho Chi Minh, attracting an increasing number of domestic and foreign businesses and investors seeking investment opportunities in Nghe An. After six editions, numerous projects have been signed and effectively implemented, creating a strong wave of investment in the province across all sectors. These annual New Year's meetings have also led many investors to choose Nghe An as a destination for a series of high-tech projects, effectively leveraging the province's resources and advantages in land and labor. This is further evidenced by the rapid increase in the number of investment projects in the province, with more and more large-scale, technologically advanced projects contributing to Nghe An's socio-economic development. It can be said that the annual New Year's Investor Meeting serves as a gathering place for investors, carrying profound humanitarian significance and aiming for the development of Nghe An.

Reporter:So, how has the annual Spring Investor Meeting been considered an initiative of Nghe An province and its co-organizing units brought a breath of fresh air to investment attraction, creating a strong shift in the province's economic structure, and especially contributing positively to the effective implementation of Resolution 26-NQ/TW, Comrade Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee?

Comrade Ho Duc Phuoc:The investor meeting, held at the beginning of the Spring season since the Year of the Ox (2009), has widely promoted the image of Nghe An province as a large, potential-rich province with many advantages both domestically and internationally. It has become an attractive destination for investors, contributing significantly to the province's improved image, rapid socio-economic development, and enhanced living standards for its people. In 2014 alone, Nghe An granted and adjusted investment certificates for 187 projects with a registered capital of over 55,663 billion VND, including 105 newly approved projects with a capital of 18,500 billion VND. To date, Nghe An province has a cumulative total of 776 effective investment projects, including 733 domestic investment projects with a capital of VND 164,937 billion and 43 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with a capital of USD 1.6 billion.

Many large, high-tech, and efficient projects have come into operation, creating numerous jobs and contributing significantly to the state budget, such as: the TH - True Milk dairy farming and processing project; the Saigon - Song Lam Brewery; the Hanoi - Nghe An Brewery; the Sabeco packaging factory; garment factories and electronic component assembly plants by Korean and Japanese investors; hydroelectric power plants; the Nam Dan Van An jewelry factory, etc. Many other projects are also under construction, such as: the Hoa Sen Group's steel and sheet metal factory; the Tan Thang cement plant; the MASAN food factory; the Royalfood Thailand canned fish processing plant; the Lan Chau - Song Ngu Son tourist complex; the Song Lam cement plant; the Hoang Mai cement plant... which are receiving new investments and increasing capacity. Many other projects are under research and preparation for investment, such as the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VISIP 6) complex; the Quynh Lap 2 thermal power plant; The integrated textile and garment industrial park of Tuan Loc Investment and Construction Joint Stock Company... When these projects become operational, they will create a major economic breakthrough, generate more jobs, increase budget revenue, and have the effect of promoting and attracting other projects in the area, creating conditions for small and medium-sized enterprises to develop.

In 2014, despite numerous difficulties, thanks to the decisive leadership of Party committees and government at all levels, and the efforts of the entire population, especially the business community, the province's economy experienced rapid growth: GDP growth reached 7.24%; budget revenue reached 7,656 billion VND, an increase of 20.7% compared to 2013. Food production reached over 1.2 million tons. The total capital mobilized by credit institutions in the province reached nearly 67,000 billion VND; total social investment reached 36,000 billion VND, an increase of 12.52% compared to 2013. The fields of education, culture, and social affairs continued to show positive progress, with education consistently ranking among the top in the country.

Healthcare, poverty reduction, job creation, and social security have received attention, with the poverty rate decreasing from 13.4% to 10%. Nghe Tinh folk songs have been recognized by UNESCO as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The expansion of the Southeast Economic Zone and the approval of the Vinh City Master Plan have contributed to improving the investment and business environment in Nghe An province. In particular, Nghe An's technical infrastructure has made rapid breakthroughs with the upgrading of Vinh Airport to an international airport, the upgrading of Cua Lo Seaport, and the construction of a system of roads and overpasses, creating a new face for Nghe An... These socio-economic achievements of the province are partly due to the extremely important contributions of the business community and investors, resulting from meetings and investment cooperation agreements signed at the beginning of the year, creating a basis for Nghe An to achieve the goals of the 17th Provincial Party Congress, creating resources for the development period of 2015-2020, and effectively implementing Resolution 26-NQ/TW on the development orientation of Nghe An province until 2020.

Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh visits Tien Phong Plastic Factory in Nam Cam Industrial Park, Vinh City. Photo: Sy Minh

Reporter:Dear Party Secretary, besides the significant investment attraction results achieved through the investor meeting at the beginning of the year, what areas still need adjustment and improvement to better attract investment in the future?

Comrade Ho Duc Phuoc:Attracting investment in general, and attracting investment through investor meetings held at the beginning of the year, has yielded fairly comprehensive results. However, realistically, the effectiveness of investment attraction has not yet met the set requirements and has not fully exploited the province's potential. The number of projects and the scale of registered capital are still low compared to the national average, failing to attract many large-scale projects, modern technology projects, or projects investing in industrial, urban, education, and healthcare infrastructure that could create breakthroughs to drive the province's economic restructuring... The number of investment projects in economic zones and industrial parks is still too small compared to the total number of investment projects in the province; the monitoring, supervision, and inspection of projects after investment certificates are issued have not been carried out regularly and continuously; many projects are registered but few are implemented, thus failing to create many completed projects that have been put into production and utilized, thus failing to maximize investment efficiency.

The guidance from various levels and sectors to address difficulties for investors has been lacking in decisiveness in some areas and at certain times. Land clearance is still slow, and clean land, electricity, water, road infrastructure, and human resources for attracting investment are not yet ready; infrastructure in economic zones and industrial parks is not yet synchronized. Although some progress has been made in administrative procedure reform, processing times are still lengthy, and the resolution of obstacles and difficulties for projects remains slow and incomplete. There is still a tendency to shift responsibility between departments, sectors, and localities, causing delays and eroding investor confidence.

Reporter:To ensure this activity plays an increasingly important role in the socio-economic development of the province, what will be the province's orientation and preparation for attracting investment in the coming period, Comrade Secretary?

Comrade Ho Duc Phuoc:Resolution No. 26-NQ/TW of the Politburo clearly states: “Strongly improve the investment environment to attract domestic and foreign investment, focusing on developing a number of industries with high scientific and technological content and high added value. Develop supporting industries, clean industries, energy-saving and environmentally friendly industries.” Therefore, Nghe An province has always clearly identified that attracting investment is of paramount importance, determining the socio-economic development of the province, and this is a key political task set by the province for the coming period. Investment attraction focuses on areas with rich potential and strengths such as human resources, land, minerals, forests and seas, tourism potential, geoeconomic location, and infrastructure in order to most effectively exploit the province's comparative advantages.

Therefore, it is necessary to drastically improve the investment environment, from the awareness to the actions of the government apparatus and the people, with the determination of "All for businesses, all for the prosperity of the homeland." It is essential to attract large corporations from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, etc., to invest in Nghe An, creating an economic breakthrough for the province. Continue to call for, seek, and attract potential investors to invest in high value-added projects using modern, environmentally friendly technologies in the fields of information technology, biotechnology serving agriculture, infrastructure development, training high-quality human resources, research and development of modern services... Prioritize large-scale projects with highly competitive products, participating in the global value chains of multinational corporations investing in the production and processing of agricultural, forestry, and high-tech industrial products, thereby building supporting industries; encourage and promote the development of small and medium-sized enterprises; At the same time, focus should be placed on suitable and effective small and medium-sized projects for early implementation.

Promote the province's potential and advantages, introduce the Southeast Economic Zone and industrial parks; preferential investment support policies and mechanisms, and ensure transparency in investment procedures... in conjunction with organizing domestic and international investment promotion activities and other publicity campaigns to attract more investment. Focus on attracting investment to key areas such as Vinh City and the Southeast Economic Zone, the Hoang Mai - Dong Hoi area; and the western part of Nghe An, linked to large agricultural, forestry, medicinal plant and mineral processing areas, in order to develop Nghe An rapidly and strongly, quickly becoming a prosperous province in the North and a regional economic center of the North Central region!

Reporter:Thank you, Comrade Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee!

Huu Nghia(Perform)