Ninh Thuan Offering More Incentives to Attract Japanese Investment

Ninh Thuan is conveniently located, connecting 3 strategic roads that are national highway 1A, North – South railway and national highway 27 to Southern Central Highlands. It is a gateway connecting crucial economic regions of the Southeast, Central Highlands and South Central Coast. With rare storming, little raining and much sunshine, the province can develop natural “specialties” such as: grapefruit, sheep, shrimp, seafood, high quality industrial salt. With coastal lines of 105km, Ninh Thuan is considered one of 4 most important fishing-ground of Vietnam, offering 500 different types of seafood.

 

Referring to development planning direction, provincial leaders commence elaborating clear plans and strategies. Ninh Thuan is the first province to hire foreign consultants (Monitor Corporation from the United States and Arup from England) to elaborate general strategic socio-economic development planning to 2020, prospect to 2030. Accordingly, Ninh Thuan is identified as a destination in Vietnam in the near future, with rapid and sustainable economic development in consistence with “green” economic model, as well as with averaged GDP rate of 18 – 19 percent.

 

Currently, Japan is the largest ODA contributor to Vietnam, as well as the largest investor in Vietnam generally. It is also the third biggest trade partner of Vietnam with value of nearly US$25 billion in 2012. Ninh Thuan has received many supports from Japan. In the past years, Ninh Thuan has received over VND552 billion for 22 projects from Japanese investors.

 

Ninh Thuan is wishing to construct a Japanese Industrial Zone around the nuclear power plant no. 2 supported by Japan. Moreover, to meet new capital from Japan, Ninh Thuan has planned to construct Ca Na Industrial Zone with total area of 1,000ha, close to the national highway no. 1, connecting with the planning of Ca Na deep-water port in order to establish a Japanese Industrial Zone.

 

Dr Vu Tien Loc, President & Chairman of VCCI In recent years, although with a low starting point, Ninh Thuan has emerged as a province with strong breakthroughs in socio-economic development in Vietnam. Ninh Thuan has made many remarkable improvements related to economic management quality of the provincial authorities, continuously upgrading Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) from 47.33 points in 2007 (55th position) to 59.7 in 2012 (18th position). Local enterprises are highly appreciating the determination and effort of Provincial Party’s Committee and People’s Committee of Ninh Thuan in improving investment environment of the province.

Ninh Thuan belongs to an investment encouraged region, therefore, investors into Ninh Thuan will be offered most favourable onditions related to reducing and exempting land rent, corporate income tax, import tax… Accordingly, investment projects in its districts, varying from investment fields will be exempted from land rent from 11 years to 15 years, as for especially investment encouraged projects such as projects of developing clean energy, projects of socialisation… will be exempted from land rent during the whole implementation time. As for corporate income tax, investment projects in the province will be applied tax of up to 10 percent during 15 years; exempted from corporate income tax during 4 years counted from the year that project make profit, and reduced from tax in following 9 years.

 

Moreover, Ninh Thuan is the first province to have Economic Development Office (EDO) based on Monitor’s advice and Singaporean model of Economic Development Board (EDB). EDO is the only clue of the province to promote investment attraction, including FDI, ODA and NGO, at the same time receive and handle investment project application from registering to supporting, solving difficulties in project implementing (“single-window” model). Bright points in policies are expected to attract more Japanese investor.

 

Ninh Thuan is blessed with a coastal line of 105km with many monuments, primitive beauty, unique and diverse culture, and many traditional villages… The province has agreed to make tourism a key economic sector in economic development strategy. Accordingly, Ninh Thuan invests nearly VND1,400 billion to establish and develop specific tourism points such as: traditional pottery village Bau Truc, My Nghiep textile, PoKlong Giarai tower, Thai An vineyard, Vinh Hy bay; establish and develop high quality, specific products and tourism service, contributing to the rapid development of tourism to catch up with other provinces in the region. A bright point for tourism sector of Ninh Thuan is that in the first 2 months of 2013, Ninh Thuan received nearly 55,000 tourists. Therefore, in 2013, Ninh Thuan is striving to promote investment into infrastructure for tourism, developing tours, marine tours, traditional village tourism and cultural tourism…with the target of attracting over 1 million tourists.

 

Referring to economic profits obtained from the sea, infrastructure for exploiting and fishing logistics has been pretty well invested, especially Ca Na fishing port is invested to become a Fishery centre of the province and the region, Ninh Chu port is constructed into a safe port for boats of the Central. Moreover, Ninh Thuan is also known as an ideal place to produce industrial salt, in following years, salt production area of the province will reach over 4,000ha, producing over 500,000 tonnes salt a year.

 

Taking advantages of the sea, many large scale projects have been implemented such as projects of clean energy, recycled energy; wind power, sun power; marine tourism, coastal industry. Averaged marine economic growth rate in the period of 2006-2010 reached 12.8 percent, higher than the general provincial growth rate (10.4 percent). According to provincial development direction, from date to 2020, Ninh Thuan will comply with comprehensive marine development direction of the country and the region, identifying marine and coastal economic development is a major task, a breakthrough in economic development strategy of the province. To achieve the targets, the province is promoting investment attraction from every economic objects to exploit marine advantages to develop the coastal industry. Accordingly, it concentrates on calling for investment in developing wind energy, sun energy, producing equipment, wind turbines and other industries supporting for industries of wind energy and sun energy. In the tourism sector, the province will give priorities in constructing villas, luxurious coastal resorts, 5 star hotels, sailing club, underwater sport…Ninh Thuan has been putting all resources together to implement marine economic development strategy for the period of 2011-2020, prospect to 2030.