Promoting its competitive advantages, in recent years, the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang has vigorously renewed its way of thinking and implementation to invite and attract more businesses to invest in the locale.
Located in the southern key economic region and on the gateway connecting the Mekong Delta with Ho Chi Minh City and the Southeast, Tien Giang hosts a range of competitive advantages, especially regional linkage. Based on such potentials, the province has implemented various priority policies to call for investment, focusing on improving the investment environment, improving provincial competitiveness and boosting administrative reform.
In 2018, Tien Giang attracted 28 projects with total registered investment capital of more than VND3.9 trillion (US$168.4 million), 1.87 times higher than the same period in 2017, and there were 16 projects registered to increase capital with the increased volume reaching over VND3.4 trillion (up 92%). The province attracted 14 projects in the first six months of 2019, with total registered capital of VND10.5 trillion (8.69 times higher than the same period in 2018). There are three projects registered to increase their capital at VND494.5 billion, bringing Tien Giang’s total investment capital for the first half this year to over VND11 trillion, 6.7 times higher than last year’s figure.
One year after the investment promotion conference themed "Tien Giang - Investment opportunities and partner for development," the province has attracted 24 new projects with total registered capital of VND13.3 trillion. In addition, there were 10 projects registered to increase capital with a total increase of VND2.3 trillion, raising the total attracted investment capital after the conference to more than VND15.7 trillion. The scale of projects were also larger than before, on average at VND555 billion per project, 7.67 times higher than the previous average.
A range of major domestic economic groups have chosen Tien Giang as the destination for their investment plans, such as Vincom Group with My Tho Trade and Service Complex, FLC Group with Tien Giang Trade and Service Centre, Truong Hai Auto Joint Stock Company with Luong Phu Trade and Service Centre project, T&T Group with research on an urban development plan in My Tho City, Thien Minh Duc Group with its study on the implementation of a project for a petroleum and liquefied gas depot in Go Cong Dong district, and Thanh Thanh Cong Group with its study on the implementation of a wind power development project. The new projects are diversified and suitable to the local socio-economic development orientation, covering industry, hi-tech agriculture, commerce - service, urban - residential area development, tourism and healthcare.
According to Cao Minh Tam, the head of the Tien Giang’s Industrial Zone Management Board, the board has advised the provincial People's Committee to promulgate a regulation on settlement of investment procedures in industrial parks and industrial clusters in the province towards the "one door , in place" model. The Management Board implements the motto "ready to serve investors and accompany investors and businesses anytime and anywhere" to solve investors' difficulties from the project’s investment and deployment processes to operation, considering the difficulties of enterprises as the board’s own difficulties and immediately handling all problems that need to be solved by enterprises.
Coming to Go Dang Joint Stock Company in My Tho Industrial Park these days, it is easy to see the company's seafood processing lines are busy with workers in enthusiastic labour for their production to fulfil export orders. Nguyen Van Dao, General Director of Go Dang Joint Stock Company, informed that in 2018, the company’s total export turnover reached US$100 million. In the first six months of 2019, the company exported 20,000 tonnes of processed seafood, mainly tra fish and clam, worth about US$57 million.
Go Dang Company currently has seven processing plants, creating jobs for around 5,000 workers. In the near future, it plans to expand processing facilities to increase its capacity. The company’s business operation is favourable thanks to the relative incentive investment policy by Tien Giang authorities. The provincial government regularly makes contact to help businesses to remove their difficulties, thus creating motivation for efficient business operation and expanded production.
Deputy Chairman of Tien Giang Provincial People's Committee, Pham Anh Tuan, said that after the investment promotion conference last year, the province has had innovations in approaching businesses, as well as developing policies to support investors. Every week, the provincial leaders are ready to sit with investors to answer and solve problems related to administrative procedures and create the best support for businesses. The province intends to soon launch a programme to meet potential investors in Japan and the Republic of Korea. Thanks to the policy to accompanying enterprises by Tien Giang, the confidence of investors has been strengthened.
