Foreign firms say still plagued by red tape in Vietnam’s Dong Nai
Representatives of many foreign-invested companies in the southern province of Dong Nai did not pull any punches in a meeting with local authorities on March 25, when they were asked to recall how red tape has marred their operations.
Hundreds of businesses attending the meeting were encouraged to tell the truth as authorities are “willing to listen,” said Tran Van Vinh, deputy chairman of the provincial administration.
“We want to know their problems to resolve them, as Dong Nai can only develop if the foreign businesses have healthy operations and profits,” he said.
Nguyen Cong Doan, who represents the managers at the Japan’s DaiKan Co. at Amata Industrial Park, said the company had fallen victim to thieves many times but police did not seem to help.
“We have reported to the police and the management board of the industrial park four times,” Doan said.
“We had been waiting for a long time when they told us that the investigation was expired and the case was suspended, which put me in huge shock.”
The representative of a plant protection drug producer said the company had to take a course on chemical safety as many as three times a year.
“Last year we also had to receive as many as ten different groups of inspectors,” he said.
Other foreign firms complained about red tape, corruption, poorly developed traffic infrastructure and late tax refund.
In conclusion, Vinh ordered relevant agencies to take complaints by foreign businesses seriously and resolve their problems as soon as possible.
He also pledged to continue administrative procedure simplification to save businesses from repeated inspection and red tape.