Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

Da Nang – The central city of Da Nang is working to build a business environment conducive for investors, based on the pillars of hi-tech industry, tourism and sea-based economy.

In its planning orientations till 2030 with a vision to 2050, the city targets attracting capital to information and communications technology (ICT), biotechnology, micro-electronic technology, mechatronics, precision engineering, environment and nano technology, among others, toward becoming a socio-economic hub in the region.

The Da Nang Hi-Tech Park (DHTP) is one of the three national advanced hi-tech parks and the only of its kind in the central – Central Highlands regions. Its infrastructure have been completed after three stages and it is striving to contribute a minimum of 10-15 per cent of the local gross regional domestic product (GRDP) during the 2025-2030 period. Da Nang has also prepared urban infrastructure facilities in three other industrial parks to draw foreign investors.

Recently, the Da Nang Investment Promotion and Support Board, the Da Nang Hi-Tech Park and Industrial Zones Authority (DHPIZA), and Long Hau Corporation have signed a cooperation agreement, under which Long Hau Corporation is the provider of factory infrastructure for hi-tech and supporting industries on a 29.6ha site in the DHTP.

Vu Quang Hung, head of the DHPIZA, said Da Nang has incentives exclusively designed for investors besides those offered by the central government. Specifically, those investing in DHTP are exempt from taxes for the first four years and enjoy a 50 per cent reduction in taxes for the following nine years. They also benefit from a preferential tax rate of 10 per cent for a period of 15 years. Importantly, they are completely exempt from import taxes on machinery, goods, and equipment used for the formation of factories.

The city also partners with the Da Nang University of Science and Technology to train skilled workforce for investors.

DHPIZA statistics showed that local hi-tech and industrial parks have so far attracted a total of 516 projects, including 391 domestic ones worth over 31.6 trillion VND (1.37 billion USD) and 125 foreign-invested ones valued at more than 1.8 billion USD, or 46.5 per cent of the total foreign direct investment in the city. At present, the city is home to 984 foreign-invested projects valued at over 4 billion USD.

Lawyer Nguyen Thanh Hoa, Deputy General Director of the KPMG Law Company that provides investment attraction counseling for DHTP, suggested that Da Nang should work with nearby cities, provinces and the entire country to build policies to draw investment into hi-tech industries, and hold investment promotion conferences in the northern and southern regions.

Buerstedde Peter, Vietnam Director of the Germany Trade & Invest, proposed that apart from developing a land fund for hi-tech industry, Da Nang should come up with a plan to strengthen goods transportation connectivity and develop logistics services when the Lien Chieu Port is put into operation.

Director of the Da Nang Investment Promotion and Support Board Huynh Lien Phuong opined that the city should expand cooperation with other educational establishments to train a highly skilled workforce, thus meeting demand of investors.

This year, DHPIZA will partner with units concerned to remove obstacles in site clearance, helping three to four more projects to start in the DHTP.