Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Dinh Thien: Da Nang welcomes the "opportunity" to become a model of national development

Comprehensive breakthrough in trade, investment and tourism

The National Assembly has just passed a Resolution allowing the piloting of a number of special mechanisms and policies such as the establishment of the Da Nang Free Trade Zone. In your opinion, what should Da Nang prioritize in development?

This is an important resolution of national significance, of special value in promoting the development of Da Nang.

Free Trade Zones are no longer new to the world. Countries have established and operated them for decades and “reaped” countless achievements in economic and tourism development, being the driving force for many lands to change dramatically. In fact, free trade zones in the world have developed creatively with many mechanisms higher than “Special Zones”.

For example, on Hainan Island, going beyond the long-standing policies for the Hainan Special Zone, the entire southern Chinese island – Hainan Province – covering nearly 34,000 square kilometers with more than 9 million people – has become a giant Free Trade Zone.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Dinh Thien

In our country, the first Free Trade Zone of Vietnam has just been allowed by the National Assembly to be piloted. So we are far behind the world. How should our Free Trade Zone be “behind” so as not to become “outdated, backward” products?

The first thing is to have a breakthrough reform mindset, to have a bold approach to the concept of a "creative" Free Trade Zone, so as not to fall behind the times.

Second, because the most “core” nature of the Free Trade Zone is “freedom”, it needs truly different policies, “unleashing” institutions, and being less limited in scale, area, and by barriers. The Da Nang Free Trade Zone also needs to gather enough resources and advantages to develop at a high level of development.

The National Assembly agreed to establish the Da Nang free trade zone associated with Lien Chieu seaport, with the aim of attracting investment, finance, trade, tourism and high-quality services.

Third is to allow the promotion of Da Nang’s own advantages. In my opinion, in Da Nang, it is necessary to build a new generation Free Trade Zone, a modern complex including seaport - airport - high-tech industrial center - logistics, developing high-class urban - tourism in parallel. This will create a huge “resonance” attraction for Da Nang.

A modern Free Trade Zone should not be solely – or primarily – a “Tariff Free” function as it was in the past.

In your opinion, how will the establishment of a Free Trade Zone and the application of special mechanisms affect tourism and investment in Da Nang?

As a world-famous tourist city, a destination worth visiting and living, Da Nang continues to become a center attracting foreign investors to invest in developing free trade. Obviously, this will be a lever for Da Nang to strongly stimulate international tourism.

Along with that, the city on the Han River also aims to become a Smart City with the function of an R&D (research and development) Center - innovation, design and production of advanced semiconductor chips. This is a necessary factor to attract experts and high-level intellectuals to work and live.

Establishing a Free Trade Zone and applying special mechanisms will be a lever for Da Nang to strongly stimulate international tourism.

However, as the first pilot Free Trade Zone, Da Nang will have to “take on” challenges ahead, experiment with unprecedented innovations. These tasks, if successful, will help Da Nang make a comprehensive breakthrough in trade, investment, and tourism, becoming a development model for localities, creating overall national momentum.

What does Da Nang need to overcome the challenges ahead, sir?

First of all, it must be affirmed that the establishment of the Da Nang Free Trade Zone is a national mission, aiming to implement the first pilot model. Therefore, the role of the State, especially the Central Government, in terms of orientation, institution creation and resource support is of decisive significance.

To attract investment from international corporations, the Central Government needs to allow the expansion of the “amplitude” of this new Free Trade Zone according to modern standards, building institutions that are ahead of the curve, and that no locality has yet applied. The Central Government also needs to provide maximum support in terms of material conditions and resources to build a system of seaports, airports, infrastructure, industrial parks, and modern logistics centers with appropriate scales. In the current conditions of our country, it is necessary to mobilize strategic investors to join hands in developing Da Nang.

In addition, the Da Nang government needs to be granted certain “superior” powers, such as the land acquisition and clearance mechanism, allowing for adjustments to the development planning of functional subdivisions, and the right to decide on budgets and staffing within sufficiently large limits of autonomy, different from other localities. This is international competition, establishing a national development model, not a matter of “comparison” between localities. In order not to miss the opportunity, to become a national model that motivates the national economy, Da Nang needs to be granted such powers.

In particular, a Steering Committee is needed to implement the Da Nang Free Trade Zone project, in which the important content is the authority associated with the right to proactively implement decisions on operating the Free Trade Zone, and the responsibility of the Da Nang government before the Government for the effective operation of this project.

Opportunity to attract “the best businesses, the best talent, the best people”

Da Nang – A city worth visiting and living in, now about to have the first Free Trade Zone in Vietnam. In your opinion, should we reposition this tourist city?

Having a clearly defined direction from the beginning is very important. Up to now, it can be said that Da Nang is the most systematically developed tourist city in Vietnam. The reason is that from the beginning, Da Nang has invited businesses to invest in developing tourism in a different direction at a high level.

A typical example is the InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort, which represents the accommodation infrastructure. This unique feature is continued by a series of “differentiating” tourism products such as Ba Na Hills, with the Golden Bridge making a particularly strong impression globally. Fireworks are set off in many places, but in Da Nang there is an unusual international fireworks festival, not just taking place for 1-2 nights but lasting a whole month, bringing Da Nang a strong tourist attraction.

Da Nang continuously creates new tourism products

Da Nang also continuously creates new tourism products. That is night tourism, typically the night market, many new attractive shows. In particular, Da Nang now shoots fireworks every night, approaching the night economy thanks to choosing businesses, strategic investors to "open the way" for Da Nang's development and shape the level of Da Nang tourism.

Clearly, Da Nang has established a standard for systematic tourism. That is to create a difference, aiming for high class from the beginning, attached to existing advantages.

In the future, Da Nang tourism will resonate with the strength of the Free Trade Zone, have new and different development motivation, to become a destination with outstanding appeal, in terms of tourism, trade and investment. With special policies and favorable mechanisms for free trade, Da Nang's door will certainly be wide open for tourists, investors, the elite, and intellectuals to come to work, invest and live.

Da Nang has advantages in tourism, especially honest people. Now with more open and free institutions, it will definitely create an unprecedented boom, inviting the best businesses, the most talented and skilled people to the international destination of Vietnam called Da Nang.

In the context of global economic competition, how can Da Nang attract more large domestic and foreign investors?

To do so, Da Nang needs to have a different mindset, come up with different policies, and be better than now. If this is done, large, strategic investors will continue to stick around and attract more large investors in new preferential sectors, including investment in the “new generation” Free Trade Zone.

The reason I use the term “new generation” is because this is not only a preferential tariff and duty-free zone, but also a place where the idea of “freedom” will be expanded, including “untying” laws, regulations, administrative regulations, for both investment and innovation. It will be a free trade zone that is not too limited in space as before, with new functions and modern levels, a logistics center with both industry, trade centers, and international transactions. Investors and businesses entering the Da Nang Free Trade Zone can be granted entry visas right at Da Nang International Airport, with visas that can be longer than the usual 90 days, …

Da Nang is aiming to attract investment in the high-tech sector. Accordingly, a new generation of Free Trade Zones will be formed, attracting the world's high-tech "elite" to Da Nang to work and live long-term.

Therefore, the Central Government needs to give Da Nang more power, along with some resources, to meet new development requirements, avoiding missing opportunities and wasting resources. It is necessary to soon establish a steering committee to implement the Project to build a Da Nang Free Trade Zone, so that the economy will soon have a development model suitable to the trend of the times.

Thank you very much!

XUAN HOA

Source: https://www.danang.gov.vn/web/guest/chinh-quyen/chi-tiet?id=60043&_c=3