HẬU GIANG — The southern province of Hậu Giang is calling for total investment of some US$300 million in seven projects, with more than 6,500ha of land expected to be leased.

Phạm Văn Tửu, director of the Department of Information and Communication, informed a press meeting on Tuesday of an investment promotion conference which would be held in the province on September 27.

Accordingly, the seven projects consist of a high quality rice processing area for exports, investment into infrastructure of the first phase of the Đông Phú concentrated industrial cluster, the Nhơn Nghĩa A industrial cluster and the third phase of Phú Hữu A industrial cluster, as well as Vị Thanh City’s residential area, the Lung Ngọc Hoàng ecotourism area and the Hậu Giang hi-tech agriculture area.

Hậu Giang has offered corporate income tax exemption and reduction policies in two to four years, reducing by half the taxes to be paid in the following four to nine years, with preferential lending interest rate of 10-17 per cent per year. Investors whose agricultural projects are part of the province’s plans would be cut their land rental by half.

Trần Thị Xuân Trang, deputy director of the department, said the investment promotion conference aimed to introduce potential, strengths, key projects and support policies to both local and foreign investors.

In addition, the event would create conditions for organisations, investors, businesses and State management agencies to exchange ideas on policies and investment environment for socio-economic development.

Exhibitions and forums would also be held.

Located 240km from the southern socio-economic hub of HCM City, Hậu Giang has increased investment in transport, connecting with six national highways, and in high quality agriculture processing zones of sugarcane, pineapple and rice.

Nguyễn Hữu Nghĩa, director of the province’s Department of Planning and Investment, said Hậu Giang has 4,300 operating businesses with total registered capital of some VNĐ45 trillion (nearly $2 billion).

The department recently granted investment licences to 488 projects with total investment of VNĐ123 trillion.

The province has attracted 29 foreign investment projects with total registered capital of $808 million.

It has striven to facilitate firms by granting investment licence in just three days and business registration in 1.5 to three days. — VNS