Deputy head of the Foreign Investment Agency under Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) Dang Xuan Quang said the two countries have yet to fully tap their potential for cooperation because their enterprises have been limited to access relevant information.
Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Herminio Loper Diaz said his country has been updating socialisation-oriented economic model for the first time, therefor there will be difficulties for foreign businesses in investing in country, he said.He said he believes Vietnam and Cuba will surmount the obstacles.
Speaking at the event, representatives from Cuba’s Mariel Special Development Zone emphasised the zone is calling investments in high-tech and environmentally friendly projects, with focus on logistics, bio-technology, pharmaceuticals, packaging , food, construction material and technology, steel and consumer goods manufacturing.
The zone has built a particular legal framework and introduced series of tax and investment incentives to investors, he noted.
Vu Quoc Huy from the MPI’s Economic Management Department shared experience in forming and developing economic zones in Vietnam.
Economic zones in Vietnam have attracted 329 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth 40 billion USD and nearly 1,000 domestic projects with a total investment of 784 trillion VND (35.2 billion USD) with oil refinery, mechanics and heavy industry models.
He said investors in Vietnam have the right to invest and operate in allowed fields in economic and industrial zones and their projects will be applied incentives relating to land rent, corporate income and import taxes.
Vietnam has only one investment project worth 9.5 billion VND in Cuba, while Cuba has run two projects in Vietnam so far. Last year, two-way trade reached only 235 million USD.
Vietnam exported foodstuffs, footwear, ceramics, construction material, coal, apparel and chemicals, while importing a number of new medicines and functional foods from the Caribbean country.
