Vietnam's Vinh Phuc province has overachieved results in all 13 targets set for this year, vice-standing chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Le Duy Thanh said during the 14th provincial People’s Council Meeting.

Thanh said the provincial economy continued growing in all fields thanks to flexible management, initiatives to deal with difficulties and challenges, assistance provided for businesses and entrepreneurs, as well as opening up sources for growth.

The economic growth rate reached 8.05 per cent this year. The industry and construction sector had the highest growth rate at 13.11 per cent and was key to the province’s overall growth, the vice-standing chairman said.

In particular, industrial production was up 13.4 per cent year-on-year to 244.8 trillion dong ($10.5 billion). Processing and manufacturing industries recorded a growth rate of 40.6 per cent.

In October, Vinh Phuc completed its state budget collection. Total budget collection this year was estimated at 32.45 trillion dong, up 16.8 per cent year-on-year.

Of the figure, domestic collection was estimated at 28.5 trillion dong, beating the full-year target by 17.6 per cent. Income from foreign direct investment (FDI) projects was expected at 21.5 trillion dong, up eight per cent over the year’s plan.

Thanh said the province organised three trips to visit potential markets that could provide high quality capital and technology. During the year, local authorities received 82 foreign businesses, investors and consultants, and 191 domestic organisations, individuals and companies that wanted to explore opportunities in the province.

Luring investors helped raise the province’s FDI and domestic direct investment (DDI) to beat the full-year targets, he said.

The provincial authorities licensed 65 new projects and approved capital hikes for 50 FDI projects. Total registered FDI capital was $670 million this year, up 34 per cent from the plan and 27.2 per cent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the province also granted new licences and increased capital for 48 DDI projects, raising their total capital to 13.55 trillion dong – up 54 per cent year-on-year.

Improvements were also seen in exports and tourism. Total retail sales were estimated at 51 trillion dong, up 10.4 per cent and total trade turnover was expected to grow 14 per cent year-on-year to $2.56 billion. Key local exports included motors, autos and spare-parts, tea, electronics, textile and garment, and footwear.

By tightening the rules, Vinh Phuc, with popular sites like Tam Dao and Flamingo Dai Lai, remained a favourite destination for visitors. This year, the province expected the total number of tourists to increase by 17 per cent year-on-year to 1.6 million, bringing 1.91 trillion dong to the province’s income.

In addition, after 10 years of implementing the new rural development plan, all 112 communes in the province accomplished the plan and four out of the nine districts were recognised for meeting the new rural locality standards.

This year, the province also created jobs for nearly 24,500 people, including 2,000 people sent abroad. The total figure was up 6.2 per cent year-on-year.

However, there were negative developments with the agriculture sector, which was heavily affected by diseases. The outbreak of the African swine fever was the major cause, meaning the province had to kill nearly 109,000 pigs.

Meanwhile, the instability of selling prices for cattle products and the decline of plantation areas lowered the growth of the agriculture sector to 2.77 per cent.

Next year, Vinh Phuc would continue using all resources efficiently and encourage more investors to come, thus improving both the provincial economy and society, Thanh said.

The province expected to record an eight to 8.5 per cent growth rate in its gross regional domestic product, Thanh noted.

“Total state budget income is projected at 33.5 trillion dong – of which domestic income reaches 29.35 trillion dong. Total FDI capital is expected to reach $550 million and total DDI capital will touch 5.5 trillion dong.”

To achieve the goals, Thanh said Vinh Phuc would continue implementing the policies of the party, the state and the government on tightening budget use, improving the business environment – especially for small- and medium-sized companies, and provincial competitiveness.

VIET NAM NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK