Dak Nong Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Centre: Creating Useful Playing Field for Businesses

The centre received 97 applications for investment projects. (48 projects registered to invest VND3,769 billion, an average of VND78 billion a project, down 32 percent in projects and 32.2 percent in value from 2010). The Provincial People’s Committee agreed in principle 34 projects with a total registered capital of VND1,077 billion.

 

In 2011, high-tech agriculture, processing industry and tourism outperformed investment attraction. Impressively, two tourism projects - Dray Sap - Gia Long and Trinh Nu - were inaugurated ahead of the Lunar New Year 2012. However, mining, applications for agricultural and forestry investment have not been approved because we had to wait for the Government’s guidance. These pending projects accounted for 44.3 percent of registered capital.

 

Dak Nong is the youngest of five Central Highlands provinces, covering a natural area of 6,514 square kilometres. Forestland accounts for 57.5 percent of natural area and the rest is agricultural land, mostly basalt soil - an ideal condition for growing both short-day and long-day industrial crops. Dak Nong province holds a strategically important position in the Central Highlands region as it shares 130 km of national borderline with two border gates with Cambodia - the gateways to trade with Laos and Cambodia. The province is 220 km from Ho Chi Minh City, 125 km from Buon Ma Thuot City, 180 km from Da Lat City and 180 km from Phan Thiet City. Hence, it has become a trade link with the southern economic zone and the central coastal region.

 

Dak Nong is blessed with many rare and precious natural resources. The most famous is bauxite - an ingredient for aluminium production. The reserve is forecast to reach billions of tonnes. Jade, sapphire, tungsten, antimony and mineral water are also common minerals in the province. An uninterrupted system of majestic waterfalls built by thick river and stream networks together with 360,000 hectares of natural forests featuring abundant flora and fauna ecosystems is a favourable condition for the province to develop ecotourism, hydroelectricity and mining.

 

With such potentials, the province provides a lot of opportunities for investors to develop new economic fields that not only affect the development of the province but also the entire company like aluminium production, bauxite mining, alumina refining, aluminium electrolysis, hydropower, agro-forestry product processing, ecotourism, etc.

 

Promoting trade and creating opportunities of trade is a permanent task of the centre.

 

The centre has made a great effort to step up trade promotion activities and support enterprises to create more business opportunities. The centre organises large-scale trade promotion events inside and outside the province for enterprises to enhance their popularity, introduce products and sign contracts with business partners. It also provides free web pages on its website for enterprises. Last but not least, it generates a playground for enterprises, farms and business households to introduce and exchange information of goods and services. Initially, these efforts have yielded fruits because they match low-starting points of local enterprises and business households. To date, this is the most suitable form of support and the shortest road for farmers in particular and enterprises in general to approach markets.

 

Enterprises in the country, including Dak Nong province, are withstanding economic woes like high inflation, shrinking market share, high interest rate, tightened monetary policy that leads to capital scarcity, low competitiveness owing to high input costs (interest rates are higher than profit margin). Hence, State supports for enterprises are now critical. This is more important in Dak Nong province where a vast majority of enterprises is smallholding business entities (farms, households, etc). More than 3,500 farms are now the engine of development in Dak Nong province.