PCI 2018 outlook an active Binh Duong in development

Over the past years, Binh Duong has continuously reaped great successes in the process of industrialization and modernization, attracting investment in socio-economic development and improving people's lives. Binh Duong has a strong improvement in the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) in 2018, surpassing Ho Chi Minh City to lead the South East and the 6th rank of the whole country, clearly demonstrating the best the provincial public during the development process.

Production line at Kolon Company (Bau Bang Industrial Park). Photo: Phuong Le

Dynamic leading

One thing is easy to see, in the process of development, Binh Duong as well as other provinces and cities, adhering to the guidelines and policies of the Party and laws of the State. In addition, Binh Duong has no advantage in infrastructure, no airports and seaports, and has very low starting points. Even before the establishment (1997), Binh Duong was on the list of poor, pure agricultural provinces, continuously receiving allocations from the central budget. In the 90s of the last century, Binh Duong was still a poor province, the main economic structure was small agriculture, industry and services. It was not until when it was separated from Song Be province in 1997, with creative and sensitive steps, Binh Duong applied well the policy and economic development policies of the Central Government, making the province break.

Experts said that, apart from natural advantages, human-created advantages are what create attraction for a locality and Binh Duong is a typical phenomenon. Recently, Bloomberg cited the report of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), showing that investment in infrastructure by the Government and the private sector in Vietnam reached an average of 5.7% of GDP per year in the recent years, the highest in Southeast Asia; In Asia, Vietnam is second only to China (6.8%). That is the current story of Vietnam, but Binh Duong has been thinking about promoting infrastructure investment in order to attract foreign investment (FDI).

Immediately after being separated from Song Be province, the Provincial Party Committee, People's Council and Provincial People's Committee quickly identified the path of industrialization and increased investment attraction for socio-economic development and improvement of people's lives. As a result, in addition to constantly building transport infrastructure, industrial zone infrastructure, telecommunications infrastructure, Binh Duong also builds a policy of "spreading red carpet to call for investment". A series of effective and affirmative policies helped Binh Duong gradually improve its image, occupying the trust of domestic and foreign investors.

Dr. Huynh The Du, a Fulbright lecturer, explained that Binh Duong 20 years ago was like a special economic zone of China, although it was not entitled to privileges like special zones. Regarding institutions, laws, Binh Duong as well as most other provinces and cities in the country, but Binh Duong can choose the right way. "Having the Binh Duong phenomenon is also thanks to the local government and the business community, including both Singapore investors and domestic investors who have been fighting for a long time," Dr Du stressed.

Maintain investor confidence

In the PCI report in 2017, Binh Duong entered the top 10 attractive investment locations in Vietnam, besides localities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hanoi, Can Tho ... Binh Duong is also a locality. leading in the proportion of enterprises choosing according to infrastructure criteria (59.1%) and operating quality (43.7%). In PCI in 2018, Binh Duong continued to be ranked first in terms of infrastructure index, far surpassing even localities with great investment interest such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong. Can Tho.

Looking back on PCI history, in the first three years of evaluating this index, Binh Duong has been leading the way. In the following years, the score of Binh Duong has increased and decreased. In 2017, Binh Duong, despite increasing points, still ranked 14th, in the group of provinces with good operating quality. This year, with 66.09 points, Binh Duong has risen strongly to return to the very Good group. It is worth noting that the confidence of the business community towards the leadership of the province continues to increase. This result has come from strong administrative reform efforts, towards reducing costs and saving time for people and businesses in Binh Duong in recent years.

Noting that, after a period of operation, the centralized administrative center of Binh Duong has operated effectively, providing services to people and businesses professionally, quickly and friendly. The province has piloted the form of people and businesses can apply for administrative procedures at home, enterprises can register to work with state agencies via email, send letters apologizing in case of overdue regulations ... The provincial People's Committee and departments and agencies have built a friendly and proactive government image and many consultations with businesses and people about satisfaction in implementing administrative procedures.

The success of Binh Duong in recent years proves the fact that local brand does not necessarily come from natural conditions, geographical position, it can be created by institutional and long-term vision. Mr. Tran Thanh Liem, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, affirmed that the achievements of the province in the past are thanks to the determination and continuous striving of generations of provincial leaders over many periods. , of local people and economic sectors. Besides, Binh Duong has received the attention and timely conditions of the Government, ministries and central branches, contributing to the province to overcome all difficulties and challenges in the process of renovation and integration. and facilitate the promotion of investment attraction and efficient use of foreign investment capital for local socio-economic development.

Reported by Khanh Vinh – Translated by Vi Bao