“Outside support”, according to Phan Huu Thang, director of the MPI’s Foreign Investment Department, would be taking advantage of WTO membership to lure foreign investment.

He revealed that the scheme on setting up Vietnamese foreign investment promotion agencies abroad has been completed and it will be submitted to the prime minister next month.

Apart from the upgrade of operational FDI promotion offices in Taiwan and the US, Vietnam will quickly establish other offices in Japan and some European countries.

According to Mr Thang, the country’s policy is still attracting big groups which will bring technology to Vietnam.

“Internal attack” is helping investors to implement their projects in Vietnam. So far this year, foreign investors have disbursed US$2bil of capital, a rise of 17.7% year on year.

Francis T. Tsai, chairman of Taiwan’s Mitac Company, said that the macro-policy of Vietnam seemed very good but that it was being carried out in different manners in different provinces.

He made surveys of the investment environments in Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Hung Yen in the north and some southern provinces, and finally decided to build the Mitac factory in Bac Ninh. The enthusiasm of the local government and quick fulfillment of administrative formalities was what lured Mitac, not tax preferences.

Recently Canon Vietnam committed to invest an additional $110mil in Vietnam. This will increase its total investment in the country to $370mil by late 2007. As a result, Vietnam will be the largest base for manufacturing Canon printers outside Japan.

Mike Asao, chief representative of Canon Vietnam, said that the company’s two factories in the North Thang Long and Que Vo industrial zones were running very well and they were convincible arguments for further investment by Canon in Vietnam.

Successful in attracting big Japanese producers of automobiles and motorbikes, secretary of the Vinh Phuc provincial Party Committee, Trinh Dinh Dung, shared the secrets of success of his province: participating in site clearance with investors, administrative formalities solved within one week, timely support for investors in strike management, human resource training. Vinh Phuc leaders also attend the ground-breaking ceremonies of all projects in the province.

The driving force for reforms

When neighbouring provinces become more and more dynamic in attracting foreign investment, Hanoi will no longer be the golden address for investors. The city now has up to 111 projects calling for investment, especially foreign investment.

At the recent Hanoi People’s Council session, many deputies expressed their concerns over the city having fallen in the provincial competition index (PCI) this year.

Hanoi’s Mayor Nguyen Quoc Trieu said that to correct this, the city had established a one-stop ‘team’ lead by a vice mayor. This team will receive complaints from investors and help them deal with their problems as well as punish any agencies or individuals showing irresponsibility or harassing investors.

City officials will meet with investors the first Wednesday afternoon of each month or organise spontaneous meetings if needed.

Mr Trieu also said that Hanoi would replace officials in charge of weak areas, even without specific violations.

Meanwhile, the weakness of HCM City in attracting investors is infrastructure. Luong Van Ly, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Planning and Investment, said that the city would spend thousands of billions dong to improve its infrastructure and speed up administrative reforms. Problems associated with construction planning and professional structures will be also solved.

Source: VNE