A seminar on improving provincial competitiveness to encourage business development was held on Wednesday in the northern mountainous province of Son La.

Speaking at the event, Hoang Van Chat, secretary of the provincial Party Committee, said Son La recently honoured co-operatives and firms earning more than VND200 million (US$8,810) per hectare of land and more than VND2 billion per hectare of water every year.

However, of the 1,959 businesses in the region, highly profitable ones account for a mere 0.7 per cent.

The Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) said that 63 per cent of the local firms complained that they faced red tape while going through administrative procedures, and that all surveyed businesses meet with difficulties in completing administrative procedures related to land, and have to pay unofficial fee.

Nguyen Ngoc Son, permanent vice president of the provincial Business Association, said the province should take more steps to improve its business climate.

On Friday, a provincial public administrative centre will become operational in the region.

At the seminar, Pham Ngoc Thach, deputy head of VCCI’s legal affairs department, asked provincial authorities to review and improve the clearance of administrative procedures for businesses, as well as make information available on all local authorities’ websites.

The event was co-hosted by the provincial People’s Committee, VCCI and the provincial Union of Science-Technology Associations. – VNS