Determined to upgrade PCI

Determined to upgrade PCI

In 2020, the province's PCI reached 62.52 points, although the ranking remained at 47th out of 63 provinces and cities, it decreased by 1.33 points compared to 2019. Although the decrease in score was due to the objective impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, it cannot be denied that it was a step backward in the economic management capacity of the government and specialized agencies. The not-so-good PCI ranking on the rankings has become a "hot" issue in many meetings and discussions of the province's agencies, departments and branches.

In terms of absolute score, Hai Duong's PCI in 2020 increased compared to 2016 (the year the province ranked 36th in the country), but in the overall and Red River Delta region, the province has not made a breakthrough and tends to lag behind. Of the 10 component indicators, the province has 4 indicators that have improved their rankings: land access, labor training, business support services and transparency. However, these indicators are still unstable over the years, and the rankings have not improved significantly. The indicators of market entry, informal costs, dynamism, and legal institutions are weaknesses in the province's PCI because they have fallen far behind other provinces and cities in the region and the whole country.

Looking directly at the limitations, Hai Duong has "dissected" the reasons why the province's PCI index not only failed to increase but also decreased. That is, administrative procedure reform has not met requirements. Coordination between state agencies in resolving difficulties and problems of enterprises and investors is still limited. Some tasks have to go through many levels and many sectors, causing time to be prolonged, losing investment opportunities and increasing unofficial costs. Investment attraction has not made a breakthrough, failing to attract many high-tech projects, supporting industries and high-quality services. The number of enterprises has increased slowly, small and medium enterprises have not received due attention...

The province identified these limitations as being slow to overcome mainly due to subjective reasons. Many Party committees, authorities, heads of agencies and units have not really considered the task of improving the investment environment as a very important task for the common development. Therefore, there has been no innovation in thinking, and there is a lack of initiative in leadership and implementation. A number of officials directly responsible for advising and implementing administrative procedures related to business investment are still corrupt and negative, creating barriers to the province's business investment environment. Transparency and publicity in implementing administrative procedures and accessing resources of the province are not high...

The biggest breakthrough in the province's efforts to improve the PCI index is the issuance of Resolution No. 08-NQ/TU of the Provincial Party Committee on strongly improving the investment and business environment and enhancing provincial competitiveness in the 2021-2025 period. With the motto "the Party Committee and government serve the people and accompany businesses", the province's investment environment has improved in quality as investment promotion work has been upgraded. The meetings between provincial leaders and large corporations and enterprises in recent times are the clearest evidence of the province's innovations in investment promotion. Large corporations from Korea, Japan, India, etc. all assessed that Hai Duong has many strengths in attracting high-quality projects, and at the same time expressed their desire to be facilitated to research and propose investment. Last March, for the first time, Hai Duong organized a seminar to attract Korean FDI, thereby creating a foundation for the province to access prestigious and quality FDI capital flows from many countries. The provincial Investment Promotion and Support Board was established to remove difficulties in accessing investment for businesses.

In addition to investment promotion activities, Hai Duong considers planning work as the key to attracting and managing investment effectively and sustainably. The province accelerates the review, adjustment, and planning of construction of industries and fields. At the same time, it speeds up the planning and investment in infrastructure of industrial parks and industrial clusters. The plans are made public, creating favorable conditions for businesses and investors to learn, research, propose and implement investment. The province has established a working group to promptly remove difficulties and obstacles in attracting investment, and businesses always have the support of specialized agencies in the process of learning and attracting investment. In addition, the arrangement of the organizational apparatus and the completion of job positions are also focused on, resolutely eliminating acts of causing trouble and harassment to businesses.

Identifying administrative reform, especially administrative procedure reform, as one of the decisive conditions to gain sympathy from businesses, the province has shortened the time to handle a number of administrative procedures related to investment. Specifically, business registration has been reduced from a maximum of 3 days to 2 days, and the issuance of investment registration certificates for projects not subject to investment policy decisions has been reduced from 15 days to 7 days. The time to handle land allocation and land lease procedures for newly established enterprises converted from business households, small and micro enterprises has been reduced from 30 days to no more than 10 days. Environmental impact assessment procedures have been reduced from 30 days to 20 days. The time to review and issue construction permits has been shortened compared to the average regulation of 31.5 days. The issuance of work permits for foreigners has been reduced from 7 days to 3 days... Shortening the time to process administrative procedures has created convenience by reducing costs and saving time for investors. The province also focuses on promoting the implementation of public administrative services at levels 3 and 4 to both modernize management work and ensure accuracy and timeliness in the process of processing procedures to serve people and businesses.

With great efforts, high determination, and specific and drastic solutions, Hai Duong hopes to improve its competitiveness to become a "promised land" for investors and businesses.