Soc Trang province is particularly encouraging investors to build and operate industrial zone infrastructure with many support policies. To learn more about this effort, Vietnam Business Forum Magazine has an interview with Mr Lam Hung Kien, Head of the Soc Trang Industrial Zones Management Board. Lam Trinh reports.
Could you please briefly introduce investment situations in industrial zones in Soc Trang province in the first six months of 2012?
Investment attraction results in Soc Trang province in the first six months of 2012 were very modest because impacts of global economic crisis and galloping lending rates although the Soc Trang Industrial Zones Management Board spared no effort to call investors.
In the first six months of 2012, the board worked with eight business delegations (one foreign) exploring and considering land lease in industrial zones. As of June 16, 2012, An Nghiep Industrial Park housed 33 companies with 41 projects leasing 143.25 ha of land, or 87.88 percent of rentable area, investing VND3,043 billion and creating jobs for 28,430 workers. Fourteen businesses started operations, leasing 55.12 ha of land, eight enterprises are building their projects locating on 42.74 ha, and 11 enterprises are carrying out investment procedures, applying for 45.38 ha.
In the first six months of 2012, An Nghiep Industrial Park had four new businesses to deploy their projects with a combined investment capital of over VND1,000 billion. Two other projects planned to be kicked off in the third quarter (including one foreign-led project).
Production value reached VND993.621 billion in the first six months of 2012, up 16.6 percent year on year. Major products were shrimp, agricultural products, household plastics, and food. Apart from economic contributions, An Nghiep Industrial Park also actively performed social roles like creating jobs for thousands of local people, restructuring the workforce with more few farming labourers and more industrial and service workers.
What projects will Soc Trang industrial parks offer incentives and what supports will investors receive when they invest?
According to the development plan towards 2015 approved by the Prime Minister, Soc Trang has six centralised industrial parks, namely An Nghiep, Tran De, Dai Ngai, My Thanh, Vinh Chau and Long Hung. Two industrial parks were funded by central budget, namely completed An Nghiep (starting operations in 2008) and underway Tran De. Four remainders are applying for procedures for establishment, detailed planning and infrastructure investment plans.
So, the province will particularly encourage investors to build and operate industrial zone infrastructure. The board will coordinate with relevant agencies to advise the administering Provincial People’s Committee to deal with site clearance issues and land transfer to investors. Besides, the board will ask the central government to have policy supports for infrastructure developers.
As industrial parks in Soc Trang province are located in disadvantageous regions; thus, investors will be granted highest centrally governed incentives for investment in such regions. Incentives include corporate income tax, import and export taxes, rent, etc.)
In addition to centrally governed preferential policies, investors are also supported to deal with administrative procedures when they locate their projects in industrial parks. They are also supplied with information about domestic and foreign markets, granted funds for participation in trade fairs and exhibitions, advertising, and personnel training.
To attract more investment capital into industrial zones, the province will quickly build infrastructure inside and outside industrial zones, shorten the time for dealing with investment procedures, and enhance the sense of responsibility of civil servants in charge of managing and supporting investment and business development activities.
With these practical policies and actions, investment attraction results have improved. More and more investors come to seek investment opportunities and locate their projects there.
Would you talk about industrial zone development directions of Soc Trang province?
Building and developing industrial zones is a particularly important factor to quicken economic restructuring towards industrialisation and modernisation and plays a vital role in socioeconomic development of Soc Trang. Hence, in the coming time, the board will focus on attracting investment capital to lease out An Nghiep Industrial Park, encourage investors to build industrial park infrastructure.
To achieve the above objectives, the board will advise the Provincial People's Committee to issue preferential policies and supports for tenants in industrial zones in a bid to draw more investment capital.
Vietnamese
