A business meeting to foster the support and remove obstacles for local enterprises was convened in the northern province of Quang Ninh on March 31.

Addressing the event, Deputy Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, Nguyen Van Thanh, asserted that the effectiveness of businesses determines the province’s development. He pledged that local authorities will join forces with companies to remove obstacles and promote production.

Pham Ngoc The, the Director of Hoang Ha Group Joint Stock Company (JSC) and Chairman of the Quang Ninh Business Association, said such business meetings created opportunities for local firms to take advantage of preferential policies in investment and project implementation.

According to Luong Hoang Thai from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, enterprises should take more initiative in improving product and service quality, especially as a raft of international trade agreements will be officially signed in the next two years, increasing market competitiveness. These will include the Vietnam-ASEAN free trade agreement (FTA) and the Trans-Pacific-Partnership (TPP) agreement.

In 2014, the province held such several business meetings, talks and forums yielding significant achievements.

By the end of last year, the province licensed 849 new businesses, creating a total of over 10,000 units firms with registered capital of 118.1 trillion VND (5.6 billion USD).-VNA