Vietnam may issue permanent residence cards to foreign investors on Phu Quoc Island under a draft law on special administrative zones submitted to the government by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

MPI proposes a series of mechanisms in the draft to attract investment capital and foreign experts to live and work in the Phu Quoc economic zone.  

Phu Quoc will be prioritized for investment to become a center for trade, high-end services, and international procurement. It will be the only zone prioritized for the development of fisheries, aquaculture processing, and fisheries logistics.

As with the other two special economic zones in Vietnam, Van Don in northern Quang Ninh province and Van Phong in south-central Khanh Hoa province, MPI has proposed a series of incentives for Phu Quoc, such as personal income tax exemptions for five years to 2030 for individual investors in the economic zone and then a rate cut by 50 per cent.

Managers, scientists, and experts with professional qualifications earning incomes that are subject to personal income tax in the three special economic zones are also exempted from tax until 2030 and then receive a 50 per cent reduction.

In addition to introducing general incentives for special zones, the Phu Quoc economic zone has also proposed the introduction of a separate mechanism that will raise the level of allowances from 30 per cent to 50 per cent of basic salary for officials and employees.

In particular, to encourage investment, authorities will issue permanent residence cards to foreign investors who have investment projects of over $5 million, stay for more than five years in Phu Quoc, and do not break the law.

Phu Quoc Island is emerging as an ideal destination for hospitality investment, with major advantages from its natural conditions, strategic location, and the support and investment from the local government and enterprises.

International visitors accounted for 15 per cent of the total in 2014 and are estimated to account for 35-40 per cent by 2020, according the Kien Giang Department of Statistics and the Kien Giang Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.

Under its revised general master plan to 2030, Phu Quoc Island will have three urban areas, 15 eco-tourism areas, two tourism complexes, and five golf courses. By 2020 it will be a special economic zone.

It has to date attracted $16.7 billion in investment capital in a range of international-scale projects that have not only given the island a new look but also attracted other projects as well as tourists.

VN Economic Times