Enhancing Professionalism, Effectiveness in Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion

In 2023, Ninh Thuan province saw progress in investment, trade, and tourism due to its reformed promotion methods.  Ninh Thuan Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Center has prioritized consultancy, investment support and business support to help mobilize resources for development investment, which aligns with the province’s goals and boosting socioeconomic development. Our reporter had an interview with Mr. Truong Van Tien, Director of the Ninh Thuan Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Center, on this topic.

What were the key successes in investment promotion in 2023, and how was innovation involved?

In 2023, the Ninh Thuan Provincial People’s Committee agreed to grant new and revised investment licenses to 74 projects with a total investment capital of VND3,337.9 billion and handed investment licenses to six projects with VND1,031.3 billion of investment capital. The province also drew more than US$12.7 million of foreign direct investment (FDI) capital, ranking 4th among Southern Central Coast provinces and cities. To achieve this success, in the past year, Ninh Thuan province met and worked with domestic and international delegations, embassies and consulates general of other countries like OPERON Group (Finland); a delegation of the American Business Council; a delegation of the French Development Agency (AFD); the Asian Development Bank (ADB); ambassadors of Norway, Denmark and Singapore; and consulates general of India and Italy in Ho Chi Minh City. The province continued to work with existing businesses and investors to invite others to survey and study investment opportunities and the investment environment in the province.

In order to promptly remove difficulties and obstacles for businesses and investment projects and support them in recovering their operations, the Provincial People's Committee established three working groups led by three Vice Presidents of the Provincial People's Committee, worked with businesses to capture their operating situation and deployed many support solutions to help them tackle their problems. In addition, Ninh Thuan province has built investment promotion plans in Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City to boost cooperation and connection in investment promotion in major provinces and cities in the country. On December 14, 2023, the province successfully hosted the Ninh Thuan Investment Promotion and Connection Conference in Binh Duong province to introduce its potential, strengths and investment environment, seek cooperation and connect investment promotion events in other provinces and cities. At the same time, it directed the organization of field surveys and working visits with big firms like Sun Group and Saigon Port; worked with companies affiliated with the State Capital Management Commission at Enterprises to appeal companies and investors to invest in industrial manufacturing and processing sectors, especially in the southern key economic region and local industrial zones.

The province has cooperated with 10 central and local newspaper and magazine agencies to publish more than 350 news items, articles, reports and clips to attract investment projects and inform socioeconomic development situations; introduce potential strengths and cooperation opportunities to call for investors and promote trade and tourism to domestic and foreign partners. Ninh Thuan has also updated, completed and released a book titled Ninh Thuan - Investment Potential and Opportunities (bilingual Vietnamese - English) and video clip titled “Ninh Thuan - Land of convergence of distinctive values”. In addition, the Provincial People's Committee has directed agencies to continuously update investment promotion contents and to properly operate the websites of agencies to reveal local potential and investment orientations to the investor community and domestic and foreign companies to seek investment opportunities in the province.

Ninh Thuan province hosts Investment Promotion Conference in Binh Duong, aiming to foster cooperation between the two provinces, attract investment, and support enterprises and investors interested in the province’s tourism, services, manufacturing, and industrial sectors

What bottlenecks will be addressed in 2024 to enhance investment attraction, and what specific strategies will be used to create breakthroughs?

In investment promotion, in 2024, Ninh Thuan province will focus on investment attraction from traditional foreign businesses and investors (South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan (China), Hong Kong (China), the United States and European countries) seeking to restructure their supply chains to Ninh Thuan for some industries that the province has advantages in development; introduce and connect investors in Japan, South Korea, India, China, Singapore and European countries; entice and guide investors in 55 prioritized investment projects in Ninh Thuan province according to the approved list; call investors to invest in key areas, especially energy, renewable energy, seaports, processing, manufacturing and supporting industries, high-class tourism, high-tech agriculture, marine economy and urban economy; and attract investment projects in the southern key region of the province.

In tourism promotion, the center will focus on bolstering the cooperation of tourism firms, improve service quality in four tourism product value chains; boost inter-regional and inter-local coordination, form value chains and tourism products; launch tourism promotion activities, accelerate the recovery of international tourist markets, especially South Korea, India, China and Japan; develop branded tourism products and services with added value and high competitiveness, speed up digital transformation and develop tourism human resources.

In trade promotion, the center will effectively exploit traditional trade promotion methods while innovating and diversifying implementation methods by speeding up information technology application and digital transformation, supporting businesses to improve their competitiveness in the new context, and participating deeply and effectively in global value chains. It will improve the effectiveness of trade promotion programs through contents relating to regional and regional development and boosting export-oriented trade promotion; coordinate and associate in trade promotion activities under national programs organized in the region; and effectively implement projects according to the approved national trade promotion program, with a focus on organizing foreign business delegations to Vietnam to purchase goods in South Central localities in 2024 in Ninh Thuan province.

The center will coordinate with related units to open a conference to announce the Provincial Master Plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, and promote investment in Ninh Thuan province at the end of April 2024. At the same time, it will integrate its investment, trade and tourism promotion activities to effectively utilize and promote resources.

Ninh Thuan and Gwangju (Korea) strengthen cooperation in tourism development, aiming to leverage their own strengths and create mutually beneficial opportunities for both localities

Which industries and fields will Ninh Thuan prioritize for investment promotion for the rest of the 2020-2025 term?

Ninh Thuan Provincial Planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050 was approved by the Prime Minister in Decision 1319/QD-TTg dated November 10, 2023, with a strategic vision of “Ninh Thuan - A land of convergence of distinctive values” to create different values to sharpen economic competitiveness and exploit potential strengths to form a space for growth. The plan defines five important breakthrough industrial clusters, including energy and renewable energy; high quality tourism; manufacturing and processing industry; high-tech agriculture; and construction and real estate market.

To carry out focused investment promotion, Ninh Thuan Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Center advised the Provincial People's Committee to issue Decision 913/QD-UBND dated March 30, 2024 to approve the list of priority investment projects in Ninh Thuan province, including 55 projects (nine energy and renewable energy projects, 18 trade - service and tourism projects, nine industrial processing and manufacturing projects, five agricultural projects, and 14 construction and real estate projects).

Thank you so much!

By Duy Anh, Vietnam Business Forum