Foreigners visit a fish sauce production facility in An Thoi town, Phu Quoc Island (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Prime Minister NguyenXuan Phuc agreed in principle that the three special economic zones beingplanned by the Government to spearhead the country’s economic growth shouldenjoy special regulations and fewer limitations to woo investments.
Phuc was speaking at a recent conference todiscuss the draft Law on Special Economic Zones (or the Law on SpecialAdministrative-Economic Units).
Conference participants agreed that the lawneeded to provide additional incentives than those stipulated by currentlegislation in order to create outstanding advantages for special economiczones.
For example, the Law on Land allows landlease of up to 70 years in economic zones, while many such zones in the worldallow it for up to 99 years.
He agreed, saying that the Law on SpecialEconomic Zones should consider lifting land lease duration and allowing the useof assets associated with land use right as mortgages at foreign creditinstitutions to create favourable conditions for investors but still complywith the Constitution 2013 as well as international regulations.
In addition, the law must create a fair,transparent and stable investment environment and ease barriers to investments,he said, adding that the compilation of the law must study the benefits andtrade-offs in the short and long terms for the country and investors.
He stressed that it was critical toidentify the competitive advantages of each special economic zone to directinvestments into sectors of priorities and promote sustainable growth.
The PM asked the Ministry of Planning andInvestment to complete the draft law and present it to the National Assemblyfor review in October.
The Vietnamese Government agreed to buildthree special economic zones to spearhead the country’s growth. One would belocated in the coastal district of Van Don in the northern province of Quang Ninh,another in Bac Van Phong in the central province of Khanh Hoa, and the third onPhu Quoc island in the southern province of Kien Giang.
Currently, there is no special economiczone in Vietnam, although the country had 18 coastal economic zones, 27 bordereconomic zones and 325 industrial zones. Vietnam established the Vung Tau-ConDao Special Economic Zone in 1979, but it was dissolved in 1991.
The Ministry of Planning and Investmentexpects the three special economic zones to contribute billions of dollars tothe gross regional domestic product (GRDP) each year from 2020 onwards.
In Van Don, tax and fee collection isexpected to total 4 billion USD, firms would generate added value of $9.7billion during the 2021-30 period and contribution to Quang Ninh province’sGRDP would grow from 5.2 percent in 2020 to 7.7 percent in 2030, while GDP percapita would grow to 12,500 USD by 2030 from an estimated 5,000 USD in 2020.
Tax and fee collection in Bac Van Phong isestimated to total 2.2 billion USD, added value generated by businesses 10billion USD in the 2017-30 period, and contribution to the Khanh Hoa province’sGRDP growth 6 percent and GDP per capita 9,500 USD in 2030.
In Phu Quoc, tax and fee collection is expectedto total 3.3 billion USD, added value generated by businesses 19 billion USD inthe 2017-30 period, and contribution to Kien Giang province’s GRDP 27 percentand GDP per capita 13,000 USD in 2030.-VNA
VNA
