Tien Giang (VNA) – Prime MinisterNguyen Xuan Phuc applauded the good policies and the consensus of Tien Giang’spolitical system in improving local investment – business climate whilespeaking at an investment promotion conference of the Mekong Delta province onAugust 9.

Addressing more than 500 delegates from centralagencies, localities and businesses, he said Tien Giang boasts huge potentialand advantages for socio-economic development. It has issued open investmentpolicies, thus facilitating production and businesses activities and creatingjobs for local people.

With a favourable location making it a gatewayof the Mekong Delta, the province also acts as a link connecting the regionwith Ho Chi Minh City.

The PM hoped that it will build on the attainedsuccesses and remove obstacles and shortcomings to strongly attract investment,thereby creating momentum for fast and sustainable socio-economic developmentand becoming a driving force of the Mekong Delta region.

He also called for businesses’ support for localinvestment attraction policies and engagement in ensuring social welfare forthe sake of both Tien Giang and Vietnam’s development.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee LeVan Huong said Tien Giang’s economy has grown steadily in recent years withannual economic growth rate averaging 8.2 percent since 2016 – an impressivefigure amid a number of economic difficulties. Most of the key indexes likebudget revenue, job creation and export turnover have increased year on year.

With a population of over 1.7 million, TienGiang has an abundant workforce and is strong at rice cultivation, fruit treefarming, animal husbandry, trade, services, and industry. It produces more than1.3 million tonnes of rice, 1.4 million tonnes of fruits, 13 million poultryand 500,000 pigs each year which are also important material supply sources forthe processing industry, he noted.

Huong said his province has implementedconsistent investment attraction policies. Notably, it has paid heed toreforming administrative procedures and creating an optimal investment climateand a favourable legal corridor for businesses.

As a result, Tien Giang is now home to some4,800 enterprises with about 700 new firms established every year, a sharp risefrom 165 companies in 1995. In the first half of 2018, more than 7.2 trillionVND (309 million USD), up three-fold from a year earlier, was poured into 18new investment projects and three existing ones in the province.

At the meeting, provincial authorities presentedinvestment approval certificates to 30 projects worth nearly 16.2 trillion VND(695.4 million USD) which will be carried out in 2018 and 2019. They alsointroduced 19 projects in need of investments in the following years.-VNA