Hau Giang urged to improve business environment to attract investment

Hau Giang (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang to make stronger efforts in administrative procedure reforms and improve the business climate in order to attract investment.

Addressing Hau Giang’s investment promotion conference on September 28, the PM said the province should pay attention to removing obstacles for enterprises and win over investors’ trust.

“Officials at all levels should listen to investors and create the best possible conditions for them,” he said, adding that the function of a development-facilitating government is to provide support in terms of public services and market search.

According to the PM, with the rate of one enterprise per 400 residents, only one third of the national average, Hau Giang is weak in developing enterprises. He made it clear that priority needs to be given to create a start-up ecosystem.

PM Phuc also suggested the province restructure its abundant workforce in the direction of scaling down the number of labourers in farming via vocational training.

Other directions for development include hi-tech agriculture and tourism, considering Hau Giang’s advantages in convenient location, fertile land, a temperate climate and a widespread network of rivers and canals.

The PM called on the business community to increase coordination with local administrations in order to timely remove any obstacles arising during their operations. He also expressed the hope that potential investors will devise long-term business strategies when deciding to invest in Hau Giang.

The government consistently pursues the goal of maintaining macro-economic stability, controlling inflation, building a transparent and constructive Cabinet in service of citizens and businesses via refining mechanisms and integrating into major markets in the region and the world, he said

Hau Giang is in the centre of the Mekong Delta and is easily accessible through National Highways 1A and 61. The province is also well connected with other economic hubs in the region such as Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho by a network of rivers and canals, including the Hau River – one of the two major branches of Mekong River which leads to Cai Cui international port in Can Tho.

The province has built the Song Hau industrial-urban park on 3,275ha of land, the Tan Phu Thanh industrial cluster on an area of 201ha and several smaller industrial clusters to serve investors.  

The locality has also designed more practical incentives for investors in terms of land, tax, labour and material zones, with the aim of attracting investment in hi-tech agriculture, processing industry, services and tourism.

At the event, the provincial authorities signed memoranda of understanding on cooperation with six units, and presented decisions approving investment intention of five projects with a total capital of 2 trillion VND (86.95 million USD).

Dong Van Thanh, permanent Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said the province is now home to two industrial zones and seven concentrated industrial clusters and has attracted over 70 projects with a total registered capital of around 70 trillion VND in domestic investment and 750 million USD in foreign investment. Among the projects, 50 have become operational, generating jobs to over 20,000 workers.-VNA