Revised Investment Law to speed up Ninh Binh's economic restructuring

Nguyen Chi Tinh, Director of the Ninh Binh provincial Department of Planning and Investment, granted an exclusive interview to Ninh Binh news online, clarifying how the Law affects Ninh Binh province's investment attraction as well as the generation of opportunities for investors.Dinh Chuc reports.

Would you tell us about the province's result of investment attraction in 2014?

In spite of many tough challenges,Ninh Binh province's economy still reaped positive outcomes in 2014. Total social invesment capital hit nearly 19.6 trillion VND (911million USD), or 3.1 percent higher than the yearly plan.

In the year, Ninh Binh granted investment licenses to 59 new projects totalling nearly 8.2 trillion VND (382 million USD) and re-granted licenses to 45 operating ones due to adjustments they made in their charter capital, project progress, and investors' information.

Notably, some FDI projects using a high degree of high technology invested by such big players as Samsung, like Ygvina, Sannico Electronic, Sil Rang Electronic Factory, have contributed to maintaining 2014's industrial production growth rate at 24.3 percent over 2013.

Would you tell us new changes of the revised Invesment Law?

With seven chapters and 76 articles, the revised law regulates activities related to business and investment. I see the three fundamental changes that would have big impacts on business management and social investment activity.

Firstly, it is the redefining of the concept of foreign investors.Under the new law, foreign enterprises that are established abroad or companies in which 51 percent or more of their charter capital are owned by foreigners are identified foreign investors.This is an important principle allowing foreign invested enterprises to be treated equally as their domestic peers.

Secondly, Article 6 reduces the number of sectors, jobs, goods and services prohibited to investment and business from 51 to six. Accordingly, administrative procedures will ultimately be streamlined and invesment management will be tightened.

Thirdly, Article 7 defines conditions for doing business in certain sectors, helping investors make decision on their operation.To improve administrative procedures, the revised law contains principles ensuring transparency, objectivity, time and cost saving for investors.

Basing on the regulated list of conditional areas for doing business, the Government will collect and publicize investment conditions required for local and foreign investors on the Enterprises' Portal.

What are impacts of the Law on theprovince's investment attraction?

The new Investment Law would have wide-ranging impacts on Ninh Binh's investment situation.

The Law would help accelerate administrative procedure reform and improve the investment climate in order to draw more FDI into the province. At the same time, it would encourage State-owned enterprises' efforts to restructure their investment capital and mobilise social capital for production and business.

In addition to that, the recognition of Trang An complex as a world cultural and natural heritage by UNESCO would help popularize Ninh Binh's image to foreign investors.

Through renewing social investment's structuret owards a modern one, our target of shifting the economic growth model would be successful. We likely achieve the goal of mobilizing 21.5 trillion VND in investment per year for a five-year period (2016-2020) as planned. I can say that the revised Investment Law would enable our province to enter a strong economic restructuring period towards modernization, just within a decade.

(Translated by Nguyen Thuy)