Promoting Border Gate Economic Development

Border gate economy is defined as one of the breakthrough fields of Lao Cai province in the 2021-2025 period. Lao Cai Border Gate Economic Zone is one of eight key border gate economic zones invested and developed by the Government to create an important foundation to attract investment funds, and develop export and import support services with the goal of forming a development pole of the northern mountainous region.

Affirming the role of national key border gate economic zone

Lao Cai Border Gate Economic Zone now has two operational industrial parks and some functional zones in Kim Thanh - Ban Vuoc section that have attracted more than 200 investment projects with a combined registered investment fund of nearly VND16,000 billion, including many key large projects of the province such as Ban Qua Copper Refining Factory of 20,000 tons a year, freight warehousing projects at international border gates, Lao Cai golf courses, and copper wire and cable projects.

Crossborder import and export has always been stable in recent years. In the past five years, this activity has expanded about 15% annually, joined by some 600 importers and exporters who pay annual tax and fees of over VND2,000 billion, accounting for 30% of the province’s total budget revenue, and hire 7,000 workers. In the first six months of 2021, the value of import and export increased by 46.79% over the same period of 2020 and the province’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) expanded 7.56%, ranking No. 15 out of 63 provinces and cities and No. 5 out of 14 northern mountainous provinces.

Carrying out Document 1804/TTg-CN of the Prime Minister dated December 18, 2020 under which Lao Cai Border Gate Economic Zone is chosen as one of eight key economic zones in the period of 2021 - 2025, the Lao Cai Economic Zones Authority advised the Provincial People's Committee to develop the Lao Cai Border Gate Economic Zone Project for the 2021 - 2025 period, with the goal of forming an integrated economic space with synchronous technical, economic and social infrastructure that plays the driving role of economic development and creates a driving force for socioeconomic development of Lao Cai province, becoming a center for goods transshipment and trade cooperation between Vietnam and other ASEAN countries with China's southwestern market.

Many solutions to support businesses and attract investors

Implementing Decision 22/2020/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister dated August 10, 2020 on reducing land rent in 2020 for entities affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, the Lao Cai Economic Zones Authority has coordinated with relevant agencies to review, guide and settle procedures for tenants in the economic zone to enjoy a 15% reduction in land rent to reduce financial pressure on them. In addition, the authority instructed them to apply reduced fees and loyalty taxes in mining to invest in transport infrastructure and address environmental accidents due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic in Lao Cai province.

In 2021, the Lao Cai Economic Zones Authority has coordinated with other related bodies to further propose land rent reduction for projects in 2021 to the Government in a bid to help investors to overcome difficulties, instruct them to enjoy reduced fees of using infrastructure, services and public utilities in the border gate area and reduce mining royalties for investment in transport infrastructure and environmental remediation in Lao Cai province due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic.

In addition, the authority regularly studied their difficulties, proposed timely solutions to such difficulties in the time of Covid-19 epidemic outbreak in order to well realize the dual goal of economic development and epidemic prevention.

Accordingly, for trade, import and export activity, the Lao Cai Economic Zones Authority advised the Provincial People's Committee to approve the plan to import machinery and equipment, and enable entry of foreign experts for projects in need of imported machinery and equipment and foreign countries; consulted the Provincial Steering Committee for Covid-19 Control to maintain manufacturing, import and export activities amid the Covid-19 epidemic outbreak: Developing three scenarios for import and export management, organizing nine meetings and talks with the Chinese side, deploying Covid-19 vaccinations for more than 700 workers at the economic zone, strengthening staff to support disease control at key points and Kim Thanh International Border Gate.

Source: Vietnam Business Forum