Creating motivation for sustainable growth

Update: 24-10-2023 | 07:11:38

Part 2: Development model transformed

After more than 25 years of construction and development, Binh Duong has achieved great socio-economic achievements. However, according to experts and scientists, success in the future is not a continuation of the past. Binh Duong is facing challenges from the middle income trap. Hence, Binh Duong needs to continue being a bright spot in transforming the local growth model in the coming time, breaking out of its economic development orbit in the past to reach a new level.

Proportion of services increased

Choosing a suitable development model plays a very important role for Binh Duong. The province needs to look for a new, more comprehensive model, not only developing individual industries, but also fostering service and urban systems... The province has improved its development strategy, from rolling out a flower mat to "not going alone" through the development of industrial parks (IPs). Particularly, the formation of Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park Joint Venture Company (VSIP) between Binh Duong's leading State-owned enterprise and Singaporean partner has become a standard model for developing green, modern and environmentally friendly IPs. After more than 25 years of development, the province's industrial proportion has accounted for nearly two thirds of the local GRDP.

Along with developing IPs, Binh Duong attaches special importance to reserving the local land fund to build residential areas for trade and service development. In picture: Residential area in Ben Cat town’s Thoi Hoa ward is connected to My Phuoc 3 IP

However, the province's sector of trade and services has grown slowly. Binh Duong is an industrial province in terms of the proportion of industrial value in the GRDP structure. But, regarding the overall industrialization process towards modern development, Binh Duong's rapid development is unbalanced between two main areas: industry, trade and services.

According to Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Thuan, Member of the Central Theoretical Council, former Chairman of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, the proportion of services in Binh Duong province remained unchanged over the past 25 years, at around 25%. For high-income economies, the proportion of services will play an important role. Meanwhile, industrial growth mainly comes from the foreign-invested sector. In the short term, this can still make Binh Duong's economy grow. However, in the medium and long term, the possibility of foreign investment increasing forever is not feasible. Hence, the approach to domestic capital is needed. Industrial manufacture has already accounted for a large proportion of Binh Duong's GRDP, so it cannot increase further. In order to have sustainable development for middle-income economies to overcome the middle-income trap, services also need to have their proper proportion.

In the future, Binh Duong is required to restructure industries in IPs, increasing the content of added value and linking the restructuring of IPs with urban development. This is also a driving force for the province to increase the proportion of services. “In the coming time, the province needs to promote services, turning them into a main sector, focusing on services with high added value. This will truly be Binh Duong's next model transformation in the international and domestic context with many changes. This is also a solution that needs to be carried out synchronously in adjusting the model as the period when Binh Duong attracted investment in industrial development", Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Thuan shared.

Technology and innovation as driving force

After a period of impressive growth, Binh Duong's economy is showing signs of slowing down. Finding a driving force for new growth is urgent for the province's sustainable development. According to Prof. Dr. Tran Tho Dat, Chairman of the Science and Training Council of National Economics University, in the context of the 4th industrial revolution developing strongly, digital economy for localities with development opportunities like Binh Duong plays a very important role. In the new context, a breakthrough is needed to move to the digital and high-tech economic stage, instead of the labor-intensive industrial model as in the past time.

For sustainable development, Binh Duong is focusing on developing high-quality services, meeting the requirements of industrial and urban development towards civilization and modernity

The three main growth driving forces of an economy include capital, people and technology. Attracting a lot of investment capital, especially FDI together with the explosion of the number of immigrant workers and technology can be considered as an inevitable direction for Binh Duong in the future. In the coming period, achieving the target that the province's GDP per capita growth must be higher than in the past period is a huge challenge.

Binh Duong is trying to build up a modern, quality and sustainable economy. Provincial leaders determined that the locality is one of the country’s first provinces facing the middle-income trap, so the locality needs to soon innovate its development model, focusing on developing new ecosystems, smart industrial ecosystem, taking innovation, science and technology as the driving force, taking the development of high-quality human resources as the focus, on the foundation of the philosophy "Effective investment environment - Harmonious humane society, dynamic and constructive government". (to be continued)

The province's development form and economic structure need to move to a new stage - the post-industrial development stage while industrial manufacture currently accounts for nearly three fourths of the province's economy. Binh Duong needs to further determine that industrialization and modernization must be based on science and technology, innovation and make good use of the opportunities of the 4th industrial revolution to have a breakthrough, rising in a number of fields; further make a fundamental shift from quantity to sustainable quality; take advantage of industry 4.0 to make a sustainable transformation between foreign enterprises, state-owned enterprises and private enterprises". (Prof. Dr. Ta Ngoc Tan, Permanent Vice-Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council)

Reported by Ngoc Thanh-Translated by Kim Tin

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Creating motivation for sustainable growth

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