Lai Chau (VNA) – To boost investment attraction, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee of the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau Le Van Luong has directed local departments and localities to improve business environment and competitiveness throughout the remainder of 2024.
The focus will be on continuing to improve indicators and sub-indices that have shown an upward trend, and drastically addressing lagging areas like land access, transparency and labour training.
Lai Chau will continue to leverage the role of the special working group set up to resolve difficulties and obstacles faced by businesses and investors. It will also take effective measures in support of enterprises, and build plans to hold the 2024 business dialogue, Luong said.
According to a report by the Lai Chau provincial People’s Committee, the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) of the province significantly improved last year, Lai Chau was ranked 35th out of 63 provinces and centrally-run cities, a jump of 22 places compared to 2022, a testament to the success of previous initiatives aimed at fostering a more attractive investment landscape.
The first half of 2024 already saw positive results. Lai Chau witnessed the establishment of 81 new enterprises with a combined registered capital of nearly 900 billion VND (37.5 million USD). Additionally, authorities approved investment decisions for five new projects valued at 182 billion VND.
Currently, Lai Chau boasts over 300 valid investment projects with a total capital exceeding 142 trillion VND. Among them, 187 projects have been completed and put into operation, 39 others are under construction, and 74 in the final stage of legal completion. Total social investment capital for the first half was estimated at more than 3.9 trillion VND.
The province has taken a proactive approach to address challenges in specific projects. These efforts include resolving obstacles faced by the project to build the Son Binh resort complex in Tam Duong district and the FOBIC afforestation and development project in Tan Uyen and Than Uyen districts. Additionally, Lai Chau has assigned tasks to its special working group to expedite the construction of a road tunnel connecting Lai Chau's Tam Duong district with Sa Pa town in neighbouring Lao Cai province.
Investment promotion activities are another key focus area. Lai Chau is actively developing promotional materials, documentaries, and videos showcasing the local strengths and investment potential. In the first half of this year, 30 investors and businesses came to the province to explore business opportunities, with a particular focus on agricultural sector./.
