To enhance the quality of investment and business environment, foster innovative promotion activities to draw new investment projects, Quang Nam province always focuses on ‘localized’ investment promotion by effectively supporting existing projects whose investors will recommend the province to others. Vietnam Business Forum has an interview with Mr. Nguyen Quang Thu, Director of the Department of Planning and Investment of Quang Nam province, on this content.

What do you think about the promotion and investment attraction of Quang Nam province in 2016-2020?

The investment environment of Quang Nam province is always assessed to be very open. Many big investors have been present in the province, including Mazda Motors Corporation (Japan), Hyosung Group (South Korea), Truong Hai Auto Joint Stock Company, Panko Tam Thang Joint Stock Company and Groz - Beckert Vietnam Co., Ltd. Besides, many well-reputed investors have come to the province to study their investment opportunities and their presence has revitalized local potential and advantages in tourism, service and urbanization. Typical examples include Indochina Capital Group, Vina Capital, Vingroup, Sungroup and BRG. They show the effect of investment promotion and attraction of Quang Nam province in the past.

In 2016-2020, Quang Nam province licensed nearly 300 domestic direct investment (DDI) with a total registered capital of VND44,000 billion, bringing total DDI projects in the province to more than 700 projects with VND160,700 billion of registered capital, largely engaged in industry, agriculture, tourism and mining. The province also licensed 90 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with US$700 million of investment capital in the 5-year period, totaling 197 FDI projects with US$5.93 billion of investment capital, which mainly involved processing, manufacturing, and tourism services. FDI projects came from more than 30 countries and territories.

To achieve the above results, the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People’s Committee of Quang Nam province always paid special attention to investment promotion and attraction, considering it a top political task. In each specific period, the province had specific methods and solutions to improve the investment environment by reviewing planning, building synchronous infrastructure systems; making investment mechanisms and policies to attract and support investment; setting up specialized working groups to guide and support investors to carry out projects on the 4-step principle of “Receiving - Appraising - Approving - Resulting.”

However, Quang Nam province still faced certain difficulties in investment promotion. Local human resources were yet to meet increasing requirements of investors; mechanisms, policies, orders, and procedures for carrying out investment projects often changed; responsibility and accountability of departments and branches was overlapped; available land fund was not enough for new projects’ requirements; slow-moving site clearance work affected project progress; and some forms of investment promotion launched by investment promotion agencies lacked magnets to draw large-scale projects.

In 2021-2025, to unlock local potential, advantages and especially facilitate economic restructuring, in what fields will Quang Nam province attract investment? What are preferable scales and quality of projects?

To tap local potential and strengths and boost socioeconomic development, Quang Nam province will give priority to industries attached to the Fourth Industrial Revolution or Industry 4.0. The province will draw investment capital for six motivational industries in the southeast region: South Hoi An residential - tourist area; automotive and parts industry; textile and garment textile; Chu Lai Airport-associated services and industries; after-gas products; and high-tech agriculture.

Quang Nam will also call on four driving industries in the western region, including wood processing, medicinal herb cultivation, animal husbandry, ecotourism development, and cottage industry.

The province will focus on seeking funds for trade and services, airport, seaport, transport infrastructure, urbanization and industrial zone infrastructure. By 2025, all industrial parks will be operational and 50% of smaller industrial complexes will have occupancy rates of over 50% and have centralized wastewater treatment systems that meet environmental standards.

According to its investment policy, Quang Nam will reject projects using outdated technology, posing environmental pollution risks or consuming natural resources.

Faced with the increasingly strong global investment movement and development requirements in the new period, given its geographical and economic positions, how will Quang Nam prepare to capture new opportunities?

To actively catch the wave of investment flows redirected because of the COVID-19 pandemic, at the 12th Quang Nam Provincial Party Congress (2020 - 2025 term), 14 groups of key tasks and solutions were adopted for “Further carrying out three breakthrough strategic tasks of the province: Building a synchronous infrastructure system and urban development; actively taking part in the Fourth Industrial Revolution together with developing high-quality human resources; and improving investment environment and innovative startups.”

- Planning and carrying out industrial and urban zones to welcome new domestic and foreign investors; mobilize and efficiently use resources, diversify investment forms to build synchronous infrastructure systems, especially important and influential projects and creating motivational projects.

- Developing science, technology and innovation in all fields; developing digital economy, building smart cities and e-government toward digital government; developing high-quality human resources and skilled workers; improving the quality of human resources to meet rapid and sustainable development requirements.

- Accelerating public administrative reform; enhancing publicity and transparency of information, administrative procedures, resolutely eliminating unofficial fees, creating a really open and attractive investment environment; boosting entrepreneurship and innovation.

In addition, the province will effectively launch localized investment promotion by further supporting and facilitating existing projects whose investors will recommend the province to new investors; hold regular dialogues with enterprises and investors to grasp and help them deal with their difficulties. Quang Nam will also contact and approach giant corporations to lure large-scale driving projects that will generate ripple effects on other projects for joint development.