Among the total, 235 projects were invested by domestic firms, totaling VND103.36 trillion (US$4.53 billion). The remaining 9 projects belonged to foreign firms worth nearly US$110 million.
According to the Central Highlands Steering Committee’s Standing Board, Lam Dong, Dak Lak and Gia Lai provinces were the most attractive destinations in the region. Dak Lak alone granted investment licenses to 75 projects this year, with a total registered capital of nearly VND4 trillion. This marked a 17.19 per cent increase in the total number of projects and an increase of 2.46 times in total registered capital. A number of big projects using funds from investors instead of the provincial budget have been completed and put into operation.
The Central Highlands provinces have recently redoubled their investment promotion efforts. It has also publicly disclosed the preferential investment policies regarding land rent, water surface lease, corporate income tax and incentives for the agricultural sector.
Dak Lak, for example, offered the policy of land rent exemption for investors during the period of construction and an exemption for 11 years or more in the next period.
In districts and towns, the corporate income taxes are exempted for four years and reduced by 50 per cent for the following nine years after the taxable income is generated.
The Central Highlands provinces have also strived to plan transport infrastructure, industrial parks, telecommunication information, electricity, water and available land funds so as to create favorable conditions for investors and businesses.
The Central Highlands region contains five provinces of Lam Dong, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Gia Lai and Kon Tum. These provinces are expected to show high potential for development in renewable energy, agricultural and tourism in the coming years.
Tourism and agriculture are two important sectors that appeared very promising to foreign investors, especially investors from Korean, Japan, and China. However, Central Highlands are not being fully explored, thus, bringing more opportunities for future investors to enter the race.
The region is also a prominent location for solar potential maps in Vietnam. According to Vietnamese authorities, the total hours of sun in Central Highlands varies from 2,000 to 2,600 hours per year. Korean Solar power investors in this area are upbeat on the prospects for the region and have published findings indicating a direct solar radiation generation of 5 kWh per square meter. With this in mind, Vietnam’s Central Highlands is an ideal place to develop a solar power plant.
In addition, the region’s wind power capacity could reach 2,000MW, which is even more than the second largest hydro power plant of Vietnam in Hoa Binh.