Business Connection Forum for Industry, Commerce, and High-Tech Agriculture EuroCham – Binh Phuoc Province 2024 provides a valuable platform for businesses to share, exchange, and gain experiences across these sectors

Promoting economic growth and attracting investment results in 2023 and in the first months of 2024, Binh Phuoc is working hard to achieve the highest goals. Could you elaborate on the above efforts and key tasks in the remaining months of 2024?

In the pivotal year of 2023, Binh Phuoc consistently and drastically carried out its tasks with many flexible solutions to improve the investment environment, support businesses and people to expand business operations and achieve very encouraging results. The province's gross regional domestic product (GRDP) rose 8.34% year on year to VND54,894 billion in 2023, ranking first in the Southeast region and 11th in the country. This was also the first year Binh Phuoc entered the Top 10 provinces and cities in licensed FDI value, with US$724 million from 48 projects (equal to 277% of the yearly plan). Binh Phuoc also accelerated the implementation and completion of some key projects and built a new appearance of Binh Phuoc on the path of strong growth.

Given its achievements, entering the accelerating and breakthrough year of 2024, Binh Phuoc announced 22 main development targets: GRDP growth of 8 - 8.5%, total social investment fund of VND8,500 billion (up 10%), export value of US$4.5 billion (up 9%), budget revenue of VND12,739 billion (up 6.29%), domestic investment value of VND7,000 billion (up 7.7%), FDI value of US$400 million, and 1,100 new companies. Overcoming many hardships in the first six months of 2024, the province recorded new milestones: GRDP growth of 7.8%, ranking 2nd in the Southeast region and 18th in the country; export value of US$2.2 billion, up 20% year on year and equal to 49% of the yearly plan; total social investment fund of VND16,376 billion, up 8.2% and equal to 43% of the full-year plan; state budget revenue of VND5,355 billion, up 8% and equal to 42% of the target set by the Provincial People's Council; and licensed FDI fund of US$82.5 million (including 11 projects), equal to 20.6% of the yearly plan.

Nonetheless, in the period, the province also faced a lot of challenges. Notably, the registered FDI value shrank from a year earlier. This will require more drastic actions, with the highest resolve, in the remaining months of the year. First of all, Binh Phuoc focused on completing dossiers to submit to the Government the revised provincial planning for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2050, and the action plan for implementation of the provincial planning as a basis for building and implementing socioeconomic development plans and projects in 2025 and beyond. In addition, the province actively deployed and allocated resources to effectively carry out chosen projects and plans; drastically accelerate public investment capital; and achieve higher budget revenue. The locality completed procedures to auction land use rights; and spent the budget strictly and economically, with priority given to key tasks and key projects.

The province also continued to speed up administrative reform and digital transformation, expand the application of online public services to facilitate people and businesses, accelerate site clearance for key transport projects, take good care of people's and workers' lives, and focus on human resource training. At the same time, Binh Phuoc strengthened investment promotion and introduced effective business support policies and solutions. Believing that with the solidarity and determination of the entire political system, people and businesses, Binh Phuoc will achieve the highest goals in 2024 to lay the groundwork for successful attainment of development goals in 2021 - 2025.

In the past years, Binh Phuoc has taken strong and drastic action to speed up administrative reform, improve the business environment and enhance competitiveness but the results have not met expectations, particularly its Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) remains modestly ranked. What do you think about this issue?

Expediting administrative reform, improving the business and investment environment and enhancing competitiveness are key tasks that the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee always notice and direct, centrally and resolutely. With persistent efforts, Binh Phuoc has created an image of dynamic development, an open and transparent business and investment climate and streamlined administrative procedures. In particular, digital transformation associated with administrative reform is an important driving force to foster socioeconomic development, led and administered via digital platforms.

However, its governance and management indicators, especially the PCI Index in recent years, remain modestly ranked as compared with other provinces and cities. On the one hand, this shows that reform efforts and positive changes of the government have not been fully accessed by businesses. But on the other hand, there are still many shortcomings and barriers in management, operation, and execution of public duties while the business environment is showing existing limitations. From a certain perspective, it also shows that innovation process and reform speed of Binh Phuoc are still slow relative to many localities in the country.

To deal with this reality, the province has analyzed and pointed out existing shortcomings and causes and proposed solutions. Notably, the Provincial Party Committee issued Directive 19-CT/TU dated September 24, 2022 on strengthening Party leadership in upgrading the investment and business climate and raising the PCI Index. Since then, the Provincial People's Committee has released annual action plans such as Plan 346/KH-UBND dated December 22, 2022 on improving the business investment environment and raising the PCI Index in 2023 and Plan 366/KH-UBND dated December 14, 2023 on supporting small and medium enterprises and carrying out the action program for stronger PCI Index in 2024.

Agencies and localities have also taken part in implementing consistent tasks and solutions and enhanced responsibility, responsiveness and timeliness for component indices. Specifically, they have adopted solutions to remove obstacles in the legal corridor for investment, reform the list of conditional business fields, reform inspection and examination to avoid overlapping, apply information technology, connect and share data among governmental agencies, perfect policies to stimulate businesses to invest and do business with innovation, digital transformation and green transformation.

To continue making Binh Phuoc a successful investment and business destination for companies, the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee require each civil servant, especially agency leaders, to uphold the sense of responsibility and self-awareness in performing public duties and clearly define their duties and responsibilities. The province will also resolutely handle any official with shirking attitude and violations in performing public duties with the highest goal of building a government system and an apparatus devoted to the common interests and aspirations of the province.

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Vietnam Entrepreneurs Day (2004 - 2024) and welcoming the meaningful day on October 13, 2024, what message do you have for the local business community?

After more than 10 years of executing Resolution 09-NQ/TW of the 11th Politburo, Binh Phuoc's business community has developed in both quantity and quality. By the end of 2023, the province had 11,682 companies with a combined registered capital of VND198,898 billion.

Binh Phuoc always sees the business community as the core force to boost local development. In Action Program 55 dated March 13, 2024 for implementation of Resolution 41-NQ/TW of the 13th Politburo, the Binh Phuoc Provincial Party Committee underlines: Developing a strong force of entrepreneurs in terms of quantity, quality and reasonable structure, with vision, intelligence, ethics, entrepreneurial spirit, legitimate enrichment, dynamism, creativity, advanced management capacity, law compliance, business culture and national identity. By 2030, Binh Phuoc will have some well-branded companies to lead supply chains and value chains to play a central role in key locally advantageous industries and fields. By 2045, the province will have an entrepreneur force with significant scale, capacity and qualifications to meet the country's development goals, to earn high income and to build a high position and prestige domestically, regionally and internationally.

To achieve the above goals, the province is currently carrying out such consistent tasks and solutions as raising awareness of the position and role of the business community in implementing its development goals; building policies, creating a favorable, safe and equal investment and business environment for businesses to grow; developing a strong entrepreneur force to reach its goals and tasks; building business ethics and culture, fostering national spirit and arousing development aspirations; promoting the role of business associations and entrepreneurs in the province. The provincial government always offers a favorable environment for the business community to develop, earn money and join to enable Binh Phuoc to grow strongly together with the country.

Thank you so much!