Lao Cai - An Important Economic Centre in North-western Vietnam

Lao Cai is a mountainous border province, home to many ethnic minority groups in the northwest of Vietnam, which shares its borderline with Yunnan province of China. With its great potential of natural resources and international border gates, convenient for trade development, the province has become an important trade centre.

 

After years’ of socio-economic reform and infrastructure renewal, the daily life and production of local people has become more stable with local urban and rural areas changing for the better.

 

Ethnic minority groups in Lao Cai province have created and are storing hundreds of historical and cultural relic sites. The province’s most outstanding relic site is an ancient stone carving area, dating back thousands of years, in the Muong Hoa valley, Sapa. In particular, Lao Cai has a magnificent cave system, which has become an attractive tourist site with the caves of Thuy Tien, Ta Phoi, and Tien- Trung Do. Nature has given Lao Cai famous landscapes, including Ham Rong, a small stone garden in Sa Pa, and the imposing peak of Phan Xi Pang. Also, Lao Cai has abundant mineral and natural resources.

So far, Lao Cai has planned and relocated its administrative area to its new urban area to create a land fund for developing trade and services within its border economic region. Four major economic complexes in Lao Cai including the international border gate, the Kim Thanh trade area, the Bac Duyen Hai and Dong Pho Moi industrial parks, attract a lot of attention from domestic and foreign enterprises, especially enterprises from China, who want to invest in the complexes to enjoy priorities, including a one-door mechanism for business licence granting, 100 per cent land rent exemption for the whole duration of projects, and a 50 per cent reduction of site clearance, tax exemption and reduction, worker training subsidies.

 

Within its programme on applying information technology (IT) in the 2001-2005 period, so far, the province has invested in some major projects including the IT Centre and the Data Integration Centre.

 

Furthermore, the province has developed its Internet/Intranet system and launched some websites to introduce the province’s potential and advantages. With the website ‘Lao Cai – Potential and New Opportunity’ on the Internet at http://www.laocai.gov.vn, foreign and domestic investors can get basic information about Lao Cai’s geographic location, climatic conditions, potential, natural resources and population. , foreign and domestic investors can get basic information about Lao Cai’s geographic location, climatic conditions, potential, natural resources and population.

Up to date, Lao Cai province has piloted the use of the online trading floor of the Lao Cai international border gate at http://www.laocai.com.vn. This is a data store in Vietnamese, Chinese and English about the main markets in Vietnam and foreign countries. The trading floor connects to the vnemart.com.vn floor and may be able to connect to other floors, thus promoting national alliance. . This is a data store in Vietnamese, Chinese and English about the main markets in Vietnam and foreign countries. The trading floor connects to the vnemart.com.vn floor and may be able to connect to other floors, thus promoting national alliance.

At present, the province has over 3,000 cadres and staff members trained with IT within programmes and projects developed by central and local agencies. In the coming time, the province will continue to concentrate on organising training courses of IT for local officials, cadres and staff members, creating favourable conditions to set up an electronic government in the province in the near future.

 

The Lao Cai international border gate and the Lao Cai border economic region play an important role in Vietnam. Therefore, the Government has agreed to build both into a modern international border gate for developing export and import activities, and cargo transit from Vietnam, China and other ASEAN countries.

 

Through to 2010, Lao Cai will continue to consider agriculture and rural development its leading front; industry and construction, a breakthrough; and tourism and trade, spearhead sectors. The province will concentrate on developing remote areas, where ethnic minority people live. Accordingly, the province will use around 70 per cent of its budget for this purpose. The province has set a target of relocating all administrative agencies to new urban areas. It will upgrade Muong Khuong commune (Muong Khuong district) and SiMaCai commune (SiMaCai district) into urban areas, class 5, while upgrading the Sa Pa and Bao Thang townships into urban areas, class 4.

Lao Cai is proposing that the Government approves a project approving ‘Lao Cai-Honghe Economic Co-operation Zone’ as a basis for the application of joint policies to implement the Kunming-Lao Cai-Hanoi-Haiphong economic corridor.

 

In the coming time, the province will continue to maintain a high, stable economic growth rate. At the same time, it will promote its economic restructure, settling socio-cultural issues, maintaining social order and security, protecting the country’s independence and sovereignty. It will open its doors to welcome investors, offering enormous incentives.