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

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

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

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

PM Phuc also suggested the province restructure its abundantworkforce in the direction of scaling down the number of labourers in farming viavocational training.

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

The PM called on the business community to increasecoordination with local administrations in order to timely remove any obstaclesarising during their operations. He also expressed the hope that potentialinvestors will devise long-term business strategies when deciding to invest inHau Giang.

The government consistently pursues the goal of maintainingmacro-economic stability, controlling inflation, building a transparent andconstructive Cabinet in service of citizens and businesses via refiningmechanisms and integrating into major markets in the region and the world, hesaid

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

The province has built the Song Hau industrial-urban park on3,275ha of land, the Tan Phu Thanh industrial cluster on an area of 201ha andseveral smaller industrial clusters to serve investors.  

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

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

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