To make breakthrough improvement of the investment and business environment and competitiveness as specified in the Resolution of the 17th Provincial Party Congress, the Hai Duong Provincial Party Committee issued Resolution 08NQ/TW dated August 19, 2021 in a bid to drastically improve the investment and business environment and enhance provincial competitiveness in 2021-2025. To learn more about the determination and effort of the province in carrying out this breakthrough, Vietnam Business Forum has an interview with Mr. Pham Xuan Thang, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People's Council of Hai Duong.

How has Hai Duong province enhanced its investment and business environment?

Over the years, the Party and authorities at all levels in the province have attached great importance to leading and directing the implementation of many policies and solutions for a better business investment environment and stronger competitiveness. With the high spirit and the drastic action of the whole political system, the local business investment environment has achieved positive progress and the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) and its component indexes (business support, land access and labor training) advanced in 2020 policy compared to those in 2016.

Public administration reform has progressed, especially in administrative procedure reform. The time for handling administrative procedures in some areas such as business registration, investment project assessment, land, tax, customs, construction, foreign work permit and electricity access has been reduced remarkably. The capacity and efficiency of provincial administration have picked up. Many difficulties and obstacles in investment and business are gradually handled and removed in a timely manner. The business and public confidence has looked up.

Therefore, Hai Duong has increasingly attracted development resources. In 2016 - 2020, the total investment fund reached VND207,865 billion, representing an average annual growth of 13.5%, higher than the target of 9.4% and higher than the growth of 6.1% in 2011 - 2015. The business community also expanded in the province. In 2016-2020, the province had 7,660 new enterprises, an increase of 10.2% annually, with a combined registered investment value rising 21.8% year on year. The good performance of local enterprises made important contributions to local socioeconomic development.

However, the province confronted certain limitations while improving the business investment environment and competitiveness. PCI scores and rankings improved insignificantly. Some component indexes were volatile and weaker than their peers in the Red River Delta and the whole country (e.g. transparency, time cost, informal charges, governmental leadership, and legal institutions). Administrative procedure reform failed to meet general development trends nor requirements of enterprises. The coordination in solving difficulties and problems was weak across agencies, resulting in time-consuming settlement.

The Hai Duong Provincial Party Committee also issued Resolution 08-NQ/TW dated August 19, 2021 on drastically improving the business and investment environment and enhancing provincial competitiveness in the 2021-2025 period. What are the views, goals and tasks of Hai Duong province in the coming years, sir?

Resolution 08-NQ/TW dated August 19, 2021 sets following clear points of view:

1. Improving the business investment environment and enhancing the provincial competitiveness is a task of the whole political system and a central, regular and cross-cutting task of all levels, branches, localities and units. The outcome of this work must be considered a criterion and a measure to assess work performance of branches, localities, units, organizations and individuals.

2. The business investment environment improvement must aim at creating a favorable, stable, equal, transparent and law-abiding environment to promote sustainable and effective development of all economic sectors and strengthen the capacity and position of enterprises in the province. At the same time, business capacity must be considered a component of provincial competitiveness.

3. Improving the business investment environment and enhancing competitiveness must be implemented with consistent solutions, coupled with improving the effect of attracting, managing and using investment capital sources for social and economic development.

Resolution 08-NQ/TW also sets out common goals: Strongly improving the business and investment environment, creating favorable conditions for economic sectors to develop effectively and attract big enterprises and strategic investors; building up its prestige of the business investment environment, overcoming bottlenecks in institutions and human resources, achieving high scores and ranking of key strong-weighted component indexes such as transparency, labor training, business support services. By 2025, Hai Duong strives to be one of 20 best performers of Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI), ranked among Top 5 Red River Delta provinces. In 2021 - 2025, its corporate establishments will rise an average of 15% a year. The development investment fund to GRDP ratio will reach 35.4%.

By analyzing the shortcomings, limitations, especially bottlenecks that negatively affect the performance of component indexes and comprehending major guidelines stated in documents of the 17th Provincial Party Congress, the Hai Duong Provincial Party Committee figured out nine key tasks to make breakthrough progress in the business investment environment and competitiveness in the 2021-2025 period: (1) Strengthening the leadership of Party and authorities at all levels, especially agencies that are responsible for performing key tasks and breakthrough solutions to clear bottlenecks in the business investment environment; (2) Creating breakthroughs in administrative reform, especially administrative procedure reform; (3) Ensuring the planning work; (4) Ensuring transparency, increasing access to resources of the business community; (5) Solving difficulties and obstacles, creating a favorable and stable environment for enterprises to do business; (6) Innovating and improving the quality and efficiency of investment promotion; (7) Developing synchronous infrastructure, especially traffic infrastructure; (8) Raising the quality and effect of business support services; (9) and Making the personnel apparatus lean, effective and efficient.

Agencies are advising the Provincial People's Committee to launch projects and plans to achieve the above targets and goals in the coming time. Would you mind telling us the important contents of these projects and plans?

First of all, all levels of the Party thoroughly understand and inform all Party members and people of the resolution; work out specific plans to implement it, based on actual conditions and their tasks assigned.

In addition, media agencies and reporters will be informed and directed to create consistency and consensus in awareness and actions of Party committees and cadres at all levels and the people.

The important task in this work is engaging Party agencies to closely monitor the implementation process: The Inspection Board of the Provincial Party Committee makes annual inspection and supervision programs and plans for Party cells and their leaders to lead and direct the implementation of the Party resolutions by agencies, localities and units. The Internal Affairs Board of the Provincial Party Committee shall, within its jurisdiction, supervise the resolution implementation; and advise timely settlement of revealed corrupt acts. The Mass Mobilization Department of the Provincial Party Committee shall direct and guide the Vietnam Fatherland Front and sociopolitical organizations in the province to inform and engage their members and all classes of people to effectively carry out this resolution. Moreover, the Personnel Department of the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee will work out a plan for implementation of this resolution; direct specialized agencies, localities and units to develop specific plans and measures for implementation for this resolution; urge and inspect the implementation; closely coordinate with agencies affiliated with the Provincial People’s Council to supervise the implementation of the resolution; periodically review, summarize and report on implementation results to the Standing Board of the Provincial Party Committee and the Executive Board of the Provincial Party Committee.

To implement Resolution 08-NQ/TW dated August 19, 2021 and Resolution 02/NQ-CP dated January 10, 2022 of the Government on key tasks and solutions to improve business environment and national competitiveness in 2022, the Party Personnel Department of the Provincial People’s Committee also directed Party cells in specialized agencies to advise and issue Plan 300/KH-UBNB on January 28, 2022 and carry out it effectively in 2022 and beyond.

In addition, the Provincial Party Committee suggested members of the Party Executive Board and secretaries of District/City Party Committees under the Provincial Party Committee be responsible for leading, directing, monitoring and urging the implementation of the resolution in localities, agencies and units within their jurisdiction.