The Mekong Delta province of An Giang will step up administrative reform, improve its investment climate, and enhance its competitive capacity to attract more domestic and foreign investment projects. Photo angiang.gov.vn

AN GIANG The Mekong Delta province of An Giang will step up administrative reform, improve its investment climate, and enhance its competitive capacity to attract more domestic and foreign investment projects.

Director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment Lê Văn Phước said that the province would focus on building a level playing field for both Vietnamese and foreign investors. They will receive preferences in tax and land lease and credit support, among others.

The provincial People’s Committee has maintained its weekly “business coffee break” model to meet with local enterprises, helping to remove bottlenecks in their operations.

An Giang is now calling for investment in 60 projects, with priority given to sectors such as high-tech agriculture, eco-tourism, resort tourism, the processing industry, and the support industry.

The province secured VNĐ795 billion (US$34.3 million) in 14 new projects in this year’s first quarter, including three in agriculture, five in realty, two in industry, and four in trade and service.

However, it drew no foreign-invested projects during the period. To date, the province is home to 37 valid foreign-invested projects.

According to the Department of Planning and Investment, the province saw 177 newly-established enterprises with a total registered capital of nearly VNĐ1.45 trillion from the outset of the year, up 6 per cent in the number of businesses but down 0.27 per cent in terms of capital against the same period last year.

From January to March, 29 companies completed dissolution procedures and 119 others ceased operations, dropping 6.5 per cent and 1 per cent respectively.

The number of enterprises in the locality now totals 9,544, which altogether registered a combined VNĐ57 trillion for their business operation. VNS