Submit to the National Assembly a draft Resolution on new outstanding special mechanisms and policies for Ho Chi Minh City

Establishing an economic organization in an FTZ does not require the procedure of granting an investment registration certificate.

According to the draft resolution, two areas with many breakthrough mechanisms and policies are free trade zones (FTZs) and the transport-oriented urban development model (TOD).

According to the draft, FTZ is an area with defined geographical boundaries, established to pilot outstanding and breakthrough mechanisms and policies. The goal is to attract investment, finance, trade, high-quality services, promote exports, industry, research and development (R&D) activities, and attract high-quality human resources. The City People's Committee decided to establish, expand, and adjust the FTZ boundaries, linked to the Cai Mep Ha seaport area. This decision can be considered a decision to locally adjust the city's general planning.

In the field of tax and finance, many incentives are also applied to new investment projects in priority industries and sectors. For example, projects in the semiconductor industry, artificial intelligence, R&D centers, new materials industry, digital infrastructure, wind power equipment in FTZ are subject to a corporate income tax rate of 10% for 20 years, tax exemption for 4 years and a 50% reduction in tax payable for the next 9 years.

Along with that, 50% reduction of personal income tax for 10 years for experts, scientists , talented people, managers, highly qualified workers working in FTZ. Enterprises can list, quote, price, record prices in contracts in foreign currency and pay, receive payments with each other in foreign currency transfers within the FTZ. Particularly, the income of strategic investors from implementing investment projects to upgrade and expand the airport in Con Dao and other new investment projects in Con Dao is subject to a tax rate of 10% during the entire project implementation period, tax exemption for 6 years, 50% reduction for the next 13 years.

Administrative procedures have also been significantly simplified, for example, foreign investors establishing economic organizations in FTZs do not have to carry out procedures for granting investment registration certificates before establishing economic organizations. The Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee is assigned land, leases land without auctioning land use rights, and does not bid for projects using land for investment projects in FTZs (except for commercial housing).

HT 3.jpg — View of Dien Hong hall on the afternoon of December 3. Photo: QUANG PHUC

Ho Chi Minh City is allowed to retain 100% of the proceeds from exploiting land fund in TOD area.

The draft enhances the autonomy and capital mobilization capacity of Ho Chi Minh City through the TOD mechanism. Accordingly, Ho Chi Minh City is allowed to retain 100% of the proceeds from exploiting land funds in the TOD area for local railway projects using the entire city budget or the investor's advance capital. This amount is prioritized for investment in local railway projects and transport projects on the TOD route.

The City People's Committee is allowed to decide on technical economic indicators and planning land use indicators different from those prescribed in national technical regulations on urban and rural planning for railway station areas, depots, and areas adjacent to traffic intersections along Ring Road 3 determined to be developed according to the TOD model...

In order to resolve difficulties in payment for BT projects signed before the Law on Investment under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) method takes effect, the draft stipulates that investors are paid by land funds, public assets managed under the Law on Management and Use of Public Assets, or land funds subject to land recovery, or land funds managed by State agencies, or a combination of these land funds.

To attract more strategic investors, the draft has specified the procedures for selecting strategic investors to ensure publicity, transparency and shorten administrative procedures. In case there is only one investor, the competent authority approves the investment policy and simultaneously approves the investor. In case there are two or more investors, the investment registration agency reports to the City People's Committee to issue scoring criteria and establish a review council to publicize and be fair in selecting investors.

Regarding the effective date and transitional provisions, the draft regulations, mechanisms and policies on FTZs will be reviewed at the National Assembly session at the end of 2030 and concluded at the end of 2035.

It is noteworthy that in case there are different provisions on the same issue between this resolution and other laws or resolutions of the National Assembly, the provisions of this resolution shall apply. If other legal documents have provisions on procedures, mechanisms, preferential or more favorable policies than this resolution, the City People's Committee shall decide to apply those procedures, mechanisms, preferential or more favorable policies.

Agreed to submit the draft resolution to the National Assembly for consideration and approval at the 10th session.

Examining the draft resolution, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Committee Phan Van Mai said that the Economic and Financial Committee and the standing bodies of the National Assembly agreed with the Government's proposal on the necessity of amending and supplementing a number of articles of Resolution No. 98/2023/QH15.

Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic and Financial Committee Phan Van Mai presents a report on the examination of draft resolutions of the National Assembly on the afternoon of December 3. Photo: QUANG PHUC

In order to promptly issue new policies, take advantage of the city's time and opportunities, and in case the competent Party agencies agree to the proposed amendments and supplements as proposed by the Government, the Economic and Financial Committee and the standing bodies of the National Assembly agreed to submit to the National Assembly for consideration and approval of the draft resolution at the 10th session.

Regarding specific and notable contents, the committee agreed to supplement the provisions on "establishment and operation of the Ho Chi Minh City Free Trade Zone" in accordance with the policy of building a free trade zone (FTA) associated with seaports in the Cai Mep Ha area. Regarding the policies applied in the FTA, the committee found that the policy of issuing specific policies applied in the FTA is similar to the regulations of the Hai Phong FTA. Therefore, the committee basically agrees with the mechanisms and policies that have been prescribed to apply in the Hai Phong FTA.

Regarding the regulation allowing the construction of works serving eco-tourism, resorts, and entertainment in special-use forests and protective forests with an area of less than 10,000 ^m2 in Con Dao, the majority of opinions of the Economic and Financial Committee did not agree to add this regulation to the draft resolution because it was not consistent with the provisions of the Forestry Law; it was requested that the Government direct agencies to receive, study, and carefully evaluate the necessity of amending these mechanisms and policies.

The draft resolution adds 11 groups of priority project lists to attract strategic investors to the city, including large-scale driving projects in the fields of: high-end tourism - resorts, culture - sports, specialized healthcare, clean energy, high-tech industry, urban infrastructure - environment, digital infrastructure, transportation and priority projects to attract investment in Con Dao. The Economic and Financial Committee requests the drafting agency and the city to clarify the necessity of adding too many lists of projects to attract strategic investors mentioned in the draft; review and only propose priority lists to attract investors for fields that are really necessary, require large investment capital, use high and advanced technology and have a large, positive impact on the city's socio-economic development and solve pressing local problems...

Regarding the decentralization regulations, the majority of opinions agreed that the Government's proposal to decentralize to the City People's Council to decide, adjust and supplement new railway projects in the city will create initiative for the city in mobilizing resources, arranging medium-term and annual local investment capital plans, shortening implementation time, and soon realizing the direction of General Secretary To Lam, the National Assembly and the Prime Minister on the issue of combating traffic congestion and developing the city's socio-economy.

Regarding the effective date, to ensure the time for review and timely preparation of documents guiding the implementation of the resolution, the committee proposes that this resolution take effect from January 1, 2026.

Comment (0)