Binh Duong vows open, transparent climate for investors (Illustrative image. Source: VNA)Binh Duong (VNA) –The southern province of Binh Duong pledges to ensure an open and transparent business environment and provide optimal conditions for investors, said Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Thanh Liem.
At a meeting with foreign investors on September 26, Liem said the province will continue improve the investment climate to raise its competitiveness and increase support for businesses’ development.
It will focus resources on completing socio-economic infrastructure, expanding industrial zones, training human resources, building social houses for workers.
The locality will develop high quality services to meet demands of enterprises while ensuring political security, social order and safety, he added.
The local authorities also answered all questions raised by investors related to social and medical insurance, taxes, natural disaster prevention and control of funds and overtime shift.
Liem said that ideas related to legal issues at the meeting would be collected and submitted to the Government in order to help enterprises solve problems.
The province reported that it had attained 140 percent of its annual target in foreign direct investment (FDI) during the first nine months of the year.
The provincial Department of Investment and Planning said total FDI in the first nine months of the year stood at nearly 1.97 billion USD, a jump of 27 percent compared with the same period last year.
During the period, the province attracted 148 new projects valued at a total of 1.165 billion USD.
Another 87 projects added capital of 765 million USD, according to the department. About 90 percent of the projects are in industrial zones.
Binh Duong has a total of nearly 3,000 FDI projects, worth over 27.7 billion USD from 60 countries and territories.
“The provincial investment environment has improved towards sustainable development. The advantageous fields in the province such as the electrical power industry, electronics, mechanics, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and service and trading (and others) have attracted investors,” said Nguyen Thanh Truc, Director of the Department of Investment and Planning.
“The number of foreign investors visiting Binh Duong to study the investment environment has increased significantly year on year,” he said.
In order to create a better investment climate, the province’s leaders and authorities work regularly with investors to learn about their difficulties and help them solve problems. This is the second time that the province has met with investors this year.
Truc said that during the past years, Binh Duong had invested in infrastructure, especially the transport network, which facilitates connections with HCM City, the Mekong Delta, the Southeast region and southern Central Highlands.
Many important transport routes have been invested and put into operation such as Binh Duong Boulevard and My Phuoc – Tan Van, which connects industrial parks with seaports and airports.
The industrial parks, new urban areas and services are highly developed to better serve investors.
Currently, the province has 28 industrial parks with a total area of over 10,560 ha and 71 percent of rental rate. It also has 11 industrial clusters with total 802 ha with a 55 percent rental rate.
The province has also approved a master plan for industrial park development. By 2020, there will be 34 industrial parks with total area of nearly 15,000ha.
An industrial - service - urban complex has been established on an area of 4,000ha with a total of 400,000 residents. The complex has spurred development of new urban areas in neighbouring localities for the Bau Bang service and urban area.
Binh Duong is located in the centre of the southern key economic zone, the most dynamic region of the country. It is a strategic traffic gateway between the Central Highlands region, central provinces and HCM City.
FDI is an essential source for the province’s socio-economic development and economic structure.
Last year, FDI contributed over 49 percent of total social investment, over 67 percent industrial production value, and over 82 percent of export turnover to the province.-VNA
VNA
