Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen The Thao spoke with theVietnam Business Forum about how the capital city enhances itscompetitiveness and attracts investment resources for socio-economicdevelopment.
* The goals that Hanoi city sets for this year areimproving its image and enhancing provincial competitiveness index(PCI). Could you tell us how the city defines these goals?
Attracting resources for development investment is always one of the toppriorities of Hanoi. Every year, foreign-invested and privateenterprises make huge contributions to the city’s budgetary revenue.
In 2013, Hanoi carried socio-economic development tasks with a lot ofdifficulties which affected budgetary balance, social security needs andsocial welfare.
However, the foreign-invested sector stillmaintained good growth last year. Specifically, foreign companies paid13.4 trillion VND to the State budget in 2013, up 16 percent over 2012,and raked in an export turnover of 3.6 billion USD, equal to 48.6percent of the city’s total exports. Foreign companies were licensed toinvest 1.3 billion USD, equal to that in 2012, in 470 new and existingprojects, and disbursed 900 million USD in the year. In 2013, the citygranted business establishment certificates to 14,950 companies with atotal investment capital of 100 trillion VND (nearly 5 billion USD), up12 percent in enterprises and 33 percent in capital value over 2012.
In 2014, we set out eight key tasks. The top priority is to removedifficulties for enterprises, provide favourable conditions for them todevelop and mobilise resources of the business community for the city’scomprehensive and sustainable development.
This year, although itdoes not use the theme of "theyear of administrative discipline”, thecapital city still considers this a key task and fundamental solution.While informing, mobilising and training, the city will also intensifyunscheduled inspection. The objectives are to raise the awareness andsense of responsibility of public officials at the service ofenterprises and citizens, as well as bolster the image and enhance thePCI of the city.
* Despite enormous efforts, some PCI components of Hanoi still declined. Could you tell us the reason why?
This reality requires serious thinking of city leaders, unit leadersand public officials to take specific, drastic actions to regain thetrust of the business community.
However, we must take intoaccount the context of Hanoi. The sharp drop of the PCI standing ofHanoi is caused by its unique characteristics and certain difficulties.First of all, the workload pending for the city is very huge, diverseand complex.
Next, Hanoi has a very fiercely competitiveenvironment because it has many more companies than other provinces andcities. Hence, they have more difficulty accessing public utilitiesservices and administrative procedures. Besides, the change inadministrative boundary caused many changes in general and specificplanning which has led to changes in granting construction permits.
Some administrative procedures are being overloaded, such as taxdeclaration, business registration, customs and insurance procedures.This will of course take more time and expense of enterprises anddistress them and the service agencies as well. In addition, land pricesin Hanoi are always the highest in the country and this sensitive fieldusually upsets people unsuccessfully trying to take it.
Meanwhile, the capacity and responsibility of many businesses inperforming State regulations is limited, leading to their repeatedactions to ensure legality. This also affects their sense of the city’sinvestment environment.
* What solutions will the city take to improve the PCI standing and draw more investment capital in the coming time?
I think the most important solution is to unify the understanding andawareness of civil servants in attitude, responsibility and servicestyle when they perform public services. They must change their thinkingfrom “administering enterprises” to “serving enterprises”. The citywill build the service manner of public apparatus to investors,enterprises and citizens in a friendly, professional and comfortablemanner.
Furthermore, Hanoi will focus on business supportservices, labour training, market entry costs, transparency and accessto information, access to land, informal charges, and proactivemunicipal leadership.
Recently, Hanoi made timely decisions toimprove the situation. Directive 13/CT-UBND issued in June clearlypoints out existing weaknesses and detailed plans for simplifyingadministrative procedures, removing difficulties, boosting production,and supporting the market. Another clear move is the Hanoi Department ofNatural Resources and Environment issuing Official Document6684/UBND-TNMT in September on six-month periodical reports on projectswith land-use requests. This is a good sign because land is always aweak point of Hanoi’s PCI. The land access index always stands at thebottom.
The latest meeting with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerceand Industry (VCCI) on October 3 deepened the city’s commitment anddetermination to improve its competitiveness. Even, the city’s leadersdecided to open monthly meetings on PCI in order to monitor thesituation more closely, improve the business environment and makenecessary changes.
On the occasion of New Year 2014, I would liketo send my best wishes to all businesses. Hopefully, they willendeavour, accompany and support the city’s policies and jointly developthe city.-VNA
* The goals that Hanoi city sets for this year areimproving its image and enhancing provincial competitiveness index(PCI). Could you tell us how the city defines these goals?
Attracting resources for development investment is always one of the toppriorities of Hanoi. Every year, foreign-invested and privateenterprises make huge contributions to the city’s budgetary revenue.
In 2013, Hanoi carried socio-economic development tasks with a lot ofdifficulties which affected budgetary balance, social security needs andsocial welfare.
However, the foreign-invested sector stillmaintained good growth last year. Specifically, foreign companies paid13.4 trillion VND to the State budget in 2013, up 16 percent over 2012,and raked in an export turnover of 3.6 billion USD, equal to 48.6percent of the city’s total exports. Foreign companies were licensed toinvest 1.3 billion USD, equal to that in 2012, in 470 new and existingprojects, and disbursed 900 million USD in the year. In 2013, the citygranted business establishment certificates to 14,950 companies with atotal investment capital of 100 trillion VND (nearly 5 billion USD), up12 percent in enterprises and 33 percent in capital value over 2012.
In 2014, we set out eight key tasks. The top priority is to removedifficulties for enterprises, provide favourable conditions for them todevelop and mobilise resources of the business community for the city’scomprehensive and sustainable development.
This year, although itdoes not use the theme of "theyear of administrative discipline”, thecapital city still considers this a key task and fundamental solution.While informing, mobilising and training, the city will also intensifyunscheduled inspection. The objectives are to raise the awareness andsense of responsibility of public officials at the service ofenterprises and citizens, as well as bolster the image and enhance thePCI of the city.
* Despite enormous efforts, some PCI components of Hanoi still declined. Could you tell us the reason why?
This reality requires serious thinking of city leaders, unit leadersand public officials to take specific, drastic actions to regain thetrust of the business community.
However, we must take intoaccount the context of Hanoi. The sharp drop of the PCI standing ofHanoi is caused by its unique characteristics and certain difficulties.First of all, the workload pending for the city is very huge, diverseand complex.
Next, Hanoi has a very fiercely competitiveenvironment because it has many more companies than other provinces andcities. Hence, they have more difficulty accessing public utilitiesservices and administrative procedures. Besides, the change inadministrative boundary caused many changes in general and specificplanning which has led to changes in granting construction permits.
Some administrative procedures are being overloaded, such as taxdeclaration, business registration, customs and insurance procedures.This will of course take more time and expense of enterprises anddistress them and the service agencies as well. In addition, land pricesin Hanoi are always the highest in the country and this sensitive fieldusually upsets people unsuccessfully trying to take it.
Meanwhile, the capacity and responsibility of many businesses inperforming State regulations is limited, leading to their repeatedactions to ensure legality. This also affects their sense of the city’sinvestment environment.
* What solutions will the city take to improve the PCI standing and draw more investment capital in the coming time?
I think the most important solution is to unify the understanding andawareness of civil servants in attitude, responsibility and servicestyle when they perform public services. They must change their thinkingfrom “administering enterprises” to “serving enterprises”. The citywill build the service manner of public apparatus to investors,enterprises and citizens in a friendly, professional and comfortablemanner.
Furthermore, Hanoi will focus on business supportservices, labour training, market entry costs, transparency and accessto information, access to land, informal charges, and proactivemunicipal leadership.
Recently, Hanoi made timely decisions toimprove the situation. Directive 13/CT-UBND issued in June clearlypoints out existing weaknesses and detailed plans for simplifyingadministrative procedures, removing difficulties, boosting production,and supporting the market. Another clear move is the Hanoi Department ofNatural Resources and Environment issuing Official Document6684/UBND-TNMT in September on six-month periodical reports on projectswith land-use requests. This is a good sign because land is always aweak point of Hanoi’s PCI. The land access index always stands at thebottom.
The latest meeting with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerceand Industry (VCCI) on October 3 deepened the city’s commitment anddetermination to improve its competitiveness. Even, the city’s leadersdecided to open monthly meetings on PCI in order to monitor thesituation more closely, improve the business environment and makenecessary changes.
On the occasion of New Year 2014, I would liketo send my best wishes to all businesses. Hopefully, they willendeavour, accompany and support the city’s policies and jointly developthe city.-VNA
