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Kien Giang province's authorities have proposed that the
Government approved a "special policy" to help upgrade
infrastructure in Phu Quoc, island offshore the province coast.
According to Kien Giang People's Committee Chairman, Bui Ngoc
Suong, provincial authorities have asked for more spending
from the state coffer and that local income be retained for
in building roads, port and hospitals as well as vocational
training schools.
Additionally, government bonds or "project bonds"
should be issued to help channel funds into infrastructure
facilities, he said.
The 579-sq.km Phu Quoc island, Viet Nam's largest island,
is renowned for its beautiful tourist sites and countless
idyllic beaches.
Phu Quoc offers investors with some of Viet Nam's most preferential
treatments that include levying a 10 percent corporate income
tax on foreign investors and 15 percent on domestic ones.
Foreign direct investment enterprises will be exempted from
income tax for the first four years of operation and enjoy
a 50 percent corporate tax cut for the following four years.
Profit tax that had been collected will be fully refunded
if it is used for reinvestment, according to Suong.
In addition, more incentives will be offered to investors
if they were approved by the Government, he said. These include
extension of the they are not subject to taxes and exemption
of VAT collection on infrastructure projects. Tax on exports
for commodities manufactured on the island will also be exempted.
Phu Quoc island is accessible by hydrofoil. It takes two hours
to reach the island from the mainland.
The number of foreign visitors to the island rose rapidly
from 42,748 in 2001 to 90,000 last year.
The economy of Phu Quoc island has also developed rapidly
with its gross domestic product (GDP) growth rising by 7.5
percent a year from 1994 to 2000.
In the 2001-05 period, the island hopes to gain an annual
GDP growth of 8 or 9 percent and an average GDP per-capita
income of between 550 and 600 USD by 2005. It aims to increase
aquaculture income by seven percent and agriculture by 15
percent. It plans to continue attracting investment capital
from all economic sectors for infrastructure development,
particularly domestic and foreign investors for sea food processing
and tourism development projects
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