"Investors would receive exemption from land lease fees, and land and water surface taxes for 3-15 years," Nguyen Van Thang, deputy chairman of the Hau Giang People’s Committee told an investment promotion conference held for the province in Ha Noi last week.

The province, which is Can Tho City’s southern neighbour and only 240km southeast of HCM City, was offering zero import and export taxes, a 15-20 per cent tax reduction on business revenue for 10-12 years and local bank incentive loans for every investor, he said.

Thang assured about 30 domestic businesses that site clearance would not be a "difficulty", as the residents would support the provincial authorities by giving up their land for projects. There was also an open mechanism to disburse the province’s budget for site clearance in advance, providing investors with "clean" land plots, he said.

The province, with an agricultural cultivation area of 80,000 ha, produces an average 1 million tonnes of rice a year, contributing 350,000-400,000 tonnes to the country’s rice exports.

"We [provincial authorities] are calling for investment to increase the storage and processing capacity of the province," Thang said, explaining the local storage and processing capacity were currently only 12 and 17 per cent of their export production respectively.

The province also wants to expand the production of a local fish thac lac - aiming to make it the second "key" export seafood product of the delta, behind tra, Thang said. He announced plans for several large industrial parks near national highways No. 1A and No. 61, and with sea access via inland canals and rivers. "The Quan Chanh Bo estuary has potential to accommodate 30,000-tonne ships," he said. Thang said every agency in the province was ready for quickly process administrative procedures for investors.

"We are ready to assist investors to Hau Giang with capital and help province authorities assess their financial capacity," said Dr Nguyen The Binh, president of the Viet Nam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (the Agribank).

Another three big banks, including local branches of the Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV), the Viet Nam Industrial and the Trade Bank (Vietinbank) and Viet Nam Development Bank (VBD) have committed to provide bank loans in Hau Giang.

Fifteen companies have confirmed investments of VND35 trillion (USD 1.9 billion), including a VND19.5 trillion thermal power plant project by the Viet Nam Oil and Gas Corporation (PetroVietnam). Thang asked investors to work with authorities to take advantage of the local workforce for all their human resource needs.

Vu Duc Huy, secretary of the Party Central Committee’s Board for Enterprises Group urged the province to make detailed plans of projects awaiting investment.

Another conference to promote investment in the province will be held during the Hau Giang Rice Festival in November.