According to a report from the Ben Tre Province People’s Committee, three of the 10 foreign-invested enterprises specialised in aquaculture and the other seven in coconut production and processing.

Eight of them are Chinese-invested enterprises, and the other two have Russian and Indonesian investors.

All of them signed land lease contracts with local residents illegally, the report said.

However, the land lease contracts had been certified by the People’s Committees of several local communes and by provincial notary offices, according to a report in Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

The China-based Trung Lam Co Ltd, which received an investment licence for a project for production, trading and import/export of coconut products, was the first to lease land from a local resident without approval from the Ben Tre provincial authority.

The project was located in Nhuan Phu Tan Commune in Ben Tre’s Mo Cay Bac District.

After licensing, the representative of Trung Lam Co, Li Qiu Sheng, signed a 10-year (2008-18) leasing contract for 2,000sq.m of land from a resident in My Thinh An Commune of Ben Tre City for the company’s production facilities.

The land lease contract was certified by Ben Tre Province’s Department of Justice.

In November 2008, after receiving a licence for a project to produce coconut jelly, the China-based Trung Nhac Ltd signed a 10-year land lease contract for 2,700sq.m of land in Ben Tre City’s Binh Phu Commune.

Over the last three years, more land lease contracts were signed between local residents and foreign-invested enterprises in Ben Tre Province.

The China-based Kim Tuyen Ltd leased over 15,000sq.m of land from four residents in Mo Cay Nam District’s Tan Hoi Commune.

In addition, Trung Han Import-Export Co Ltd (China) leased over 18,000sq.m in Mo Cay Nam District’s Tan Hoi Commune, Mo Cay Bac District’s Khanh Thanh Tan Commune and Giong Trom District’s Phuoc Long Commune.

Similarly, foodstuff manufacturing Nguu Dua Ltd (China) leased 6,864sq. m in Mo Cay Bac District’s Nhuan Phu Tan Commune.

Trung Hai Ltd of China leased 10,520sq.m from five households in Mo Cay Nam District’s Tan Hoi and Chau Thanh District’s My Thanh Commune.

The branch of the Taiwanese company Uni-President leased a 954sq.m shrimp breeding farm in Binh Dai District’s Thanh Tri Commune.

Chiou Chung Lien, a representative of the Indonesian-invested Denikin Viet Nam Ltd, leased 2,850sq.m of land in Giong Trom District’s Phuoc Long Commune for a farm-produce processing plant.

The largest area of land was leased by the Taiwanese-invested aquaculture Simmy Ltd and the Russian-invested Viet Nam Co. They signed agreements with families in Binh Dai District’s Dai Hoa Loc and Thanh Phuoc Communes.

Simmy was using 64.5ha for a project in milkfish breeding, while Viet Nga Co was using 12ha for aquaculture.

Illegal licensing

On January 18, 2013, the Ben Tre Investment Promotion Centre asked the Ben Tre Justice Department if the certification of the land-lease contracts were legal.

Nearly two months later, on March 6, in reply to the centre’s question, the director of the Ben Tre Department of Justice, Phan Tuan Thanh, said: "The certification of land lease contracts signed between individuals and foreign investors and organisations does not comply with land laws and regulations."

Phan Van Nam, a resident of Mo Cay Nam District’s Tan Hoi Commune, who leased nearly two hectares of land to the China-based Trung Han Co, said at first he signed a land lease contract with a Vietnamese woman named Mai Thi Bich Hanh.

The contract was certified by the Tan Hoi Commune People’s Committee before a Chinese national named Zhou Zhunhan asked him to sign a Chinese-language contract.

"Being nervous about such a Chinese-language contract, I had to ask someone to translate it into Vietnamese before putting my signature on it," said Nam.

According to the Ben Tre Justice Department, under the Land Law, local residents and households are allowed to lease their land-use rights to Viet kieu (Overseas Vietnamese) individuals and organisation.

The Land Law stipulates that land can be leased by the State to foreign investors who are licensed for projects in agriculture, forestry, aqua-culture and salt production. Land rentals are collected once or every year.

It also stipulates that the provincial People’s Committees are authorised to issue decisions on leasing land to foreign-invested enterprises.

The foreign-invested enterprises that illegally signed land lease contracts with residents admitted that they had not understood the Land Law thoroughly, said Nguyen Truc Son, director of the Ben Tre Investment Promotion Centre.

He said Simmy, Viet Nga Ltd and other foreign-invested enterprises had pledged to cancel the land lease contracts signed with residents and to sign new land lease contracts with authorised State agencies.