Bac Ninh: Fair competition facilitates businesses' market entry

Enhancing the sub-indices "Market entry" and "Fair competition" scores is the department's mission, according to Mr. Nguyen Phuong Bac, Deputy Director of the Bac Ninh Department of Finance. The Market entrance Index is designed to evaluate the variations in entry costs that newly founded companies encounter in various jurisdictions. The Market Entry Index score for Bac Ninh province in 2024 was 8.07, up 0.66 points from 2023.

Creating a level playing field for business market entry (In the photo: Chairman of Bac Ninh People's Committee Vuong Quoc Tuan visits Fujiko Vietnam Herbal Medicine Co., Ltd.)

Regarding the improvement of indicator scores under the sub-index "Cost of market entry," the Department of Finance is responsible for raising the scores of specific indicators such as: business registration time, the percentage of enterprises required to amend or supplement their registration documents, and the time needed to update business registration information… These processes have been expedited in Bac Ninh province to minimize waiting time for businesses and ensure the earliest possible return of results, thereby enhancing satisfaction among citizens and enterprises.

Mr. Nguyen Phuong Bac believes that the Government's resolutions have focused on administrative procedure reform, aiming to reduce costs and time burdens for businesses at the market entry stage. However, issues such as competition and governance have not been adequately addressed. He emphasized that competition policy and fair competition are vital for the survival of businesses, and there remains significant room for further reform in these areas.

In terms of supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in improving human resource quality, digital transformation, increasing labor productivity, building corporate brands within the province, expanding markets, and participating more deeply in value chains, as well as promoting green transformation.

Bac Ninh province is focusing on advising the development of policies to attract educational institutions and training centers that provide high-quality human resources within the province. At the same time, it continues to effectively implement the “Support Program for SMEs in Bac Ninh Province for the 2021–2025 Period”; promote online business registration, offer free digital signature issuance for newly established SMEs, assist citizens in submitting applications online and receiving results by postal delivery directly to their homes and businesses; and provide production premises for SMEs in industrial parks and clusters across Bac Ninh during the 2020–2025 period…

Implementing policies to support or provide financial rewards for businesses conducting greenhouse gas inventory; businesses meeting ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) standards; businesses with new business models; and businesses engaged in innovation and creativity;...

Effectively implementing Plan No. 1970/KH-KHĐT.ĐKKD dated August 14, 2023, on collecting information to support startups for newly established businesses and investment projects registered outside industrial parks in the province. The goal is to organize consulting and support for businesses to quickly start up, enter the market, and develop production and business activities. Bac Ninh province will lead and coordinate with relevant units to enhance investment promotion efforts, attract large-scale foreign direct investment (FDI) businesses with advanced technologies; advise on boosting economic diplomacy activities linked with trade promotion, and proactively seek investment opportunities in potential markets to attract external resources.

Mr. Bac further shared that Bac Ninh province has implemented specific measures to improve the Market Entry Index, such as: improving the business environment through administrative procedure reduction, focusing on reviewing and cutting down administrative procedures to reduce hassle and save costs for citizens and businesses; modernizing the provincial administration in the direction of "streamlined, efficient, effective, and modern"; enhancing transparency of policies and laws for businesses, creating all conditions to quickly resolve investment procedures, and encouraging investment from all economic sectors. There is also a strong shift in management from "pre-check" to "post-check", along with strengthened inspection and supervision efforts.

Bac Ninh province with the spirit of "the success of businesses is also the success of the province" and "Connecting trust, advancing together with entrepreneurs"

Implementing and scaling up initiatives, models, and effective practices in administrative reform, with the goal of reducing processing times in 2025: a 30% reduction in the processing time for administrative procedures that take more than 10 days, and a 40% reduction in those that take more than 20 days, such as: construction permits, environmental permits, fire safety, food safety, public security, retail distribution licenses for foreign enterprises,... Ensuring that all procedures related to businesses are carried out online, seamlessly, and efficiently, guaranteeing transparency and minimizing paperwork. Coordinating with central authorities to ensure that 100% of administrative procedures are implemented without being dependent on administrative boundaries at the provincial level.

Through this, the province continuously reforms administrative procedures, improves the business environment to be safe, transparent, reduces compliance costs, and promptly resolves difficulties and obstacles for businesses and investors in the area.

Bac Ninh creates a level playing field for businesses

In 2024, Bac Ninh province scored 5.36 points on the Fair Competition Index, a decrease of 0.55 points. To improve the rankings of lower-scoring indicators, Bac Ninh is committed to reforming and creating a fair and competitive environment where both state-owned and private enterprises can thrive together.

Economic experts and foreign businesses in Vietnam believe that enterprises are the frontline forces directly "playing" in the global arena, full of opportunities but also challenges. Among them, the private sector, although large in number, is still at a disadvantage in many areas. To fully leverage the advantages of the TPP, Vietnam needs to create a truly level playing field between private enterprises and state-owned enterprises.

Private enterprises are facing many constraints, despite being a crucial force in the economy. Particularly, private enterprises must compete in a business environment where credit allocation, land access, and various incentives are often more favorable to state-owned enterprises and FDI businesses. After many years of building a market economy, the private sector in Vietnam remains weak and fragile. 97% of domestic private enterprises are SMEs.

Representatives from several businesses in Bac Ninh province believe that the key factors for businesses are not just financial support packages or land access, but a fair, transparent business environment, stable policies, and simplified administrative procedures. Businesses need to be proactive, self-reliant, and resilient to thrive in an integrated economy. While the business environment has improved, there are still many "sub-permits" that hinder business development. At the same time, there must be efforts to ensure that private enterprises can develop equally, with no distinction between large and small businesses, or domestic and foreign enterprises.

Administrative reform results in the first quarter of 2025 in Bac Ninh Province

Therefore, when it comes to businesses and investors in Bac Ninh province, the strategic mindset of the provincial leadership regarding creating a level playing field is an essential factor to ensure that businesses can compete fairly on all fronts.

With the highest political determination to achieve the goal of being among the provinces and cities with the best economic management quality, Bac Ninh province must continuously strive to improve the investment and business environment, sustainably enhance the provincial competitiveness, and aim for a gradual increase in the overall PCI score each year. After analyzing and identifying the causes behind the declining indicators and rankings, and incorporating the feedback and recommendations of experts, Bac Ninh has set out many strategic tasks and solutions. Among these, the human factor is considered decisive, emphasizing the role and responsibility of leaders and public servants in building a transparent, integrity-driven, action-oriented, and creative, with effective and efficient operations as a key factor.

The leadership of Bac Ninh province continues to promote the role, dynamism, and boldness of the leaders; attract and select the right people with real competence and integrity, and promptly filter and replace those who fail to fulfill their duties. At the same time, the province will implement the three strategic breakthroughs synchronously, effectively, openly, and transparently; apply information technology linked with digital transformation in the process of resolving administrative procedures; simplify administrative procedures; and resolutely remove unreasonable barriers and unofficial costs.

In addition, Bac Ninh needs to quickly research, develop, and operate new models in investment promotion and support. The province should focus on improving its scores and addressing the limitations in indicators that have seen a decline, such as: land access, transparency, unofficial costs, time costs, legal institutions, and public order and security. This will help create satisfaction among businesses and investors when investing in Bac Ninh province.

Since the beginning of the year, the Department of Finance of Bac Ninh has granted new investment registration for 238 projects with a total registered investment capital of 105.044 million USD; issued capital adjustments for 61 projects with an increase of 1,033.584 million USD; ... As of now, the Department of Finance has granted investment registration for 1,130 active projects, with a total registered investment capital after adjustments of 3,574.495 million USD.

Regarding fair competition in business registration, according to Ms. Ngo Thanh Huong, Head of Business Registration Office, Department of Finance of Bac Ninh, the ratio of business registration applications submitted online in the first four months of 2025 reached 100%, making Bac Ninh one of the leading provinces in the country. The number of newly established businesses was 1,217 (a 5% increase compared to the same period in 2024), with a total registered capital of 22.318 trillion VND (2.4 times higher than the same period in 2024). The average registered capital per newly established business reached 18.3 billion VND. As of now, Bac Ninh has a total of 25,781 businesses with a total registered charter capital of 452.383 trillion VND and 6,933 affiliated units.