Local authorities from the northern province of Ha Nam will create all possible conditions to help business players stabilise and develop their performance.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Mai Tien Dung made the promise at a meeting with entrepreneurs on June 16 to discuss ways of removing business difficulties.

Dung was told that the major obstacles include poor information technology infrastructure – which slows down cargo shipments - unclear payment procedures, an imperfect traffic system and poor waste treatment facilities in some industrial parks.

Additionally, it is difficult for businesses, especially small and medium ones, to get access to bank loans, which minimise opportunities to expand their market.

Dung said the business community has a major role to play in the local social-economic development, helping increase the provincial competitiveness index (PCI).

According to the provincial Department of Planning and Investment, as of May this year, Ha Nam had 3,172 businesses registering for operation. They contributed over 700 billion VND (43.7 million USD) for the State budget, up 25 percent year-on-year.

Local exporters also raked in nearly 300 million USD from January-May, posting a yearly rise of 44 percent.

Last year, Ha Nam lured 20 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with registered investment totalling 118 million USD.

The province now has 79 FDI projects worth more than 700 million USD. It targets 1 billion USD in FDI by 2015.-VNA