The proposal was made in the draft resolution of the National Assembly on piloting a number of specific mechanisms in an effort to develop Da Nang City.

According to the plan, the Da Nang Free Trade Zone will have a defined geographical boundary that mainly focuses on the export and import of goods. Enterprises with investment projects in the Da Nang Free Trade Zone are all eligible to enjoy customs incentives and tax exemption for investors.

Foreigners holding visas with a term not exceeding 3 months and Vietnamese citizens going to leave Vietnam are allowed to purchase duty-free goods in unlimited quantity and value.

Drastic reform is needed in the context of fierce competition to attract FDI capital flows, otherwise all opportunities will be lost, said Minister of Planning and Investment, referring to the successful model that China’s Shanghai has adopted in granting investment licenses to foreign businesses.

According to the minister, Vietnam is competing with Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and India which are constantly promoting reform and innovation to attract capital flows that are increasingly shrinking and tend to move to the US and other developed countries.

He also suggested that Da Nang should ask for a new visa policy specifically designed for the Free Trade Zone to attract investors, experts and tourists.in addition, more tax incentives should be introduced to attract businesses, experts and employees.

Nguyen Van Quang, secretary of the Da Nang City Party Committee, expected that the establishment of a free trade zone will serve to create a breakthrough in the development of the service industry, which is a strong field and will account for a large proportion of the city’s economic structure moving forward.

None of investors agree to pour investment into the locality if there is no change in streamlining investment procedures, said Quang, suggesting the time for an investment license to be granted to a project in such zone should be cut to 2-3 months instead of nine months.

VOV