Strengthening administration reform to simplify and publicize procedures, focusing on investing infrastructure and creating smoothness for business environment to maintain and enhance index of international integration and improve the provincial competitiveness index (PCI) are the main contents set out at the conference on ameliorating ability of international economic integration and launching project of enhancing the PCI held by the provincial People's Committee.

At a production line of high-grade bulb products.

Promoting integration ability In the past year, Binh Duong emerged to stand at third among 63 provinces and cities in the international economic integration index. This result announced by the national committee for international economic cooperation indicated that the province still reached the encouraging achievements in the economic integration, despite economic recession and fluctuation. Among the key elements such as trade, investment, tourism, human, infrastructure facility, culture and so on, the province had many factors increasing ranking gigantically, especially, trade and investment. The provincial department of Trade and Industry director Vo Van Cu said that for trade field, Binh Duong still keeps an average pace of export and import growth and a steady purchasing power on the market. This element surged from the 13rd position in 2010 to the 7th in 2013. In addition, investment area jumped its position significantly from the 14th ranking in 2010 to the 2nd in the previous year. The local FDI attraction has over the past years exceeded the set plans. The proportion of registered and chartered capital had no far distance. This proved that Binh Duong has been still an attractive destination for investors. Besides, the level of capital disbursement reached a fair rate, showing the local ability of capital absorption and advantaged environment on investment. According to Vo Van Cu, to maintain and enhance the index on international economic integration, Binh Duong needs a concrete roadmap to research potentials as well as set out and execute strategies. Some measures to keep the ranking of integration ability are also set out. Specifically, they focus on spurring administration reform, growth acceleration on investment and trade, introducing and spreading tourism products, recovering and developing traditional craft villages, excelling policies of human resources attraction, investing strongly in infrastructure facility, proactively setting ou policies in conformity with local features and more. Improving PCI ranking At the conference, the provincial department of Investment and Planning director Mai Hung Dung also assessed situation on launching the project of improving PCI 2013. The project's main contents consisted of reforming and improving efficiency of legal system, developing variously fields of business assistance, enhancing approach of land and stability of land usage, minimizing cost and time of implementing the State's regulations, improving quality and efficiency of vocational training, raising transparency and approach of information, reducing unofficial costs, promoting motivation and leading edge of the local leaders and more. Launching the project has been paid much attention by departments, agencies and localities to raise the PCI in 2013, Dung added. Especially, many contents of the projects have been implementing with encouraging results. "At present, industrial parks have offered 2,300 ha of land for businesses and the local authority has also zoned 300ha at Bau Bang industrial park to attract auxiliary industrial projects in a bid to spur investment attraction and prepare well conditions for receiving opportunities when the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement is signed, etc", Dung revealed. In addition, the local authority has strengthened IT application into management and settlement of administration procedures, application of digital signatures, implementation of e-customs clearance, tax declaration via internet, tax payment via banks, etc. Particularly, the local authority has continuously promoted the leaders' front-line, often held dialogues to solve difficulties for businesses and spur production and business and so on. The provincial People's Committee chairman Le Thanh Cung stressed that the index of international economic integration and the PCI are very important. In the past year, Binh Duong ranked third in the index of international economic integration. This is the remarkable result, marking efforts of agencies, sectors and authorities at all levels. Therefore, the local administration will make more the efforts to maintain this result in the coming time. The PCI alone, the local authority will uphold the done results and simultaneously assess shortcomings to improve the ranking. According to the provincial chairman, the local administration will also hold dialogues with businesses to spur business and production of business community in the province.                                                                                           Reported by D.Thanh - Translated by A.C