Many large corporations have confidently chosen Dak Lak province to locate their projects in recent years. What is the secret for this Central Highlands province to strongly attract investors? Mr. Dinh Xuan Ha, Director of the Department of Planning and Investment of Dak Lak province, has an interview with Vietnam Business Forum’s reporter on this matter. Duy Anh reports.

Joined by the entire political system, what are outstanding results of investment attraction of Dak Lak province in the past years?

Dak Lak province always supports and facilitates investors to carry out their investment projects in the locality. In 2020, the Provincial People's Committee granted investment licenses to 26 projects with a total registered capital of VND20,905.51 billion. Although the number of projects decreased, the value rose by VND8,724.68 billion from the previous year, showing that investment flows into Dak Lak had higher quality and bigger scale - a premise for sustainable investment attraction.

In 2020, about 150 investors came to explore the investment climate and business opportunities in the province, including Tan A Dai Thanh Real Estate Group, Trung Nam Construction Investment Company, Jafpa Comfeed Vietnam Company and Long Thanh Golf Company. In the year, some large projects were built and put into operation like the VND290 billion Big C Trade Center, and five solar power projects with a total installed capacity of 600 MW invested with VND15,402 billion by Xuan Thien Group. The provincial government licensed Trung Nam Construction Investment Joint Stock Company to invest VND16,300 billion in Ea Wind Farm, one key project of the province in the coming period. Once completed and put into operation, the project will promote economic restructuring, create jobs for local workers, considerably contribute to local budget revenue, and generate substantial dynamics for socioeconomic development.

Currently, some sectors are drawing much attention from big investors of renewable energy (wind power and solar power), urban development, eco-tourism and resort, and agricultural products. After registering for investment, investors actively carried out investment procedures and started construction to complete and bring their projects into operation on schedule as committed. In the near future, some big projects will be launched, including solar power projects in Ea Sup and Buon Don districts; wind power projects in Ea H'leo, Krong Buk, Krong Nang districts and Buon Ho Town; golf course and eco-tourism and resort complex in Ea Kao Lake area; resort, sports, entertainment and eco-urban complex in Ea Nhai Lake in Krong Pac district and Cu M'gar district; residential urban projects in Buon Ma Thuot City, Buon Ho Town and districts.

Dak Lak province recently received a new wave of investment and has become a favored destination of many large-scale projects. Could you elaborate on this success?

At all times, Dak Lak pays great attention to luring investors to tap its abundant local advantages such as favorable location, convenient economic and cultural exchange, relatively complete infrastructure system and development potential for agriculture, tourism, culture and renewable energy. The province has a dynamically developing economy, a stable political security and an active administration which is always ready to support businesses and investors.

Geographically, Dak Lak is located in the heart of the Central Highlands, one of the development poles of Vietnam - Laos - Cambodia Development Triangle; has convenient roads and airways linked to major economic centers such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hai Phong and other provinces and cities. This advantage helps Dak Lak to expand exchanges and links for socioeconomic development and international cooperation.

Regarding natural resources, over 40% of the area is fertile basalt soil suitable for growing a variety of high-yield valuable agricultural products such as rubber, pepper, avocado, durian, honey, medicinal herbs, and especially coffee. Beside its huge potential for developing high-tech agriculture, solar power and wind power, Dak Lak also has potential for developing tourism with picturesque waterfalls, lakes and nature reserves where many species of rare animals and plants live. Especially, Dak Lak is one of the cradles of the Space of Gong Culture in the Central Highlands, recognized by UNESCO as an oral and intangible masterpiece of humanity. With diverse natural resources, an abundant and dynamic young labor force and a top-class consumer market in the Central Highlands, Dak Lak is seen to have great potential external economic development and investment cooperation to lay the groundwork for enticing investors.

Besides, when investing in Dak Lak, investors will enjoy higher investment incentives than in many other localities. Buon Ma Thuot City offers high investment incentives while all districts and towns have special investment incentives - the highest in the regulatory bracket adopted by the Government. In addition to the Government’s incentives, investors are granted local investment incentives. Specifically, when investing in socialization fields, they will enjoy a 25-year land rent exemption and a 70% reduction in land rent in the remaining investment time in urban wards in Buon Ma Thuot City and a 25-year land rent exemption and an 85% reduction of land rent for the remaining project time in rural communes in the city. Other localities exempt 100% of land rents for investors.

The plus point of Dak Lak's investment climate lies in the action and willingness of local authorities to support investors to deal with their difficulties. Accordingly, the Provincial People's Committee makes every effort to improve the business climate, launch action plans to raise its Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI), and assist them to carry out their licensed projects.

In the coming time, the Provincial People's Committee will direct provincial and local authorities to accelerate administrative reform, increase dialogues, remove difficulties and obstacles, and facilitate domestic and foreign companies and investors to make investment and do business in the locality. Investment promotion will be further reformed to connect with the right investors for target industries. In particular, the province will concentrate on localized investment promotion through existing investors, which are encouraged to recommend other domestic and foreign investors to the province. The province will promptly remove difficulties and obstacles faced by active projects and facilitate all projects to work effectively so as to strengthen investor confidence in the local business investment environment and create a ripple effect and positive impact on new investors.

What are specific solutions Dak Lak province takes to constantly improve its competitiveness and refresh its image in the eyes of investors in the current context of increasingly fierce competition in investment attraction?

To further draw more investors, the province will deploy many consistent solutions, facilitate investors to access land, infrastructure, administrative procedures, training support and labor recruitment. Dak Lak will announce the list of projects seeking investment; promptly handle difficulties and obstacles faced by investors in the course of carrying out their projects in a bid to create a favorable and open business investment environment, enhance local competitiveness, and make Dak Lak an attractive destination for domestic and foreign investors.

At the same time, the province will hold periodic government - business meetings and dialogues where prompt solutions will be suggested to handle difficulties faced by investors in the course of carrying out their projects. The province will adjust policies to encourage and attract investment flows for local socioeconomic development; further review and reform administrative procedures to eliminate cumbersome, complicated and difficult administrative procedures to reduce informal costs and time costs for investors. Knowing that infrastructure must be built in advance for investors to locate their projects and develop the local economy, the province will build a synchronously interconnected infrastructure system across the province, particularly to material supply areas.

With what it has achieved in investment attraction and with its determination to speed up administrative reform in the coming time, I am confident that Dak Lak will achieve the goal of investment attraction.