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Dr. Phan Huu Thang, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Industrial Park Finance Association, former Director of the Foreign Investment Department (Ministry of Planning and Investment).

What is your assessment of the current situation of attracting investment to develop the industrial park system in recent times? Looking back at the process of the industrial park system recent development and the recent results of foreign investment attractions into industrial parks, it can be seen that the trend of foreign investment in Vietnam will focus mainly on industrial parks, economic zone (EZ). Every year, the amount of FDI capital into industrial parks and economic zones accounts for 60-70% of the national overall amount of FDI capital. This rate is still on the rise, showing that Industrial Parks and Economic Zones play a very important role in foreign investment in the Vietnamese economy. However, due to development over a rather long period of over 32 years (since 1992 - the first year Vietnam had NOMURA Industrial Park in Hai Phong), that has gone through many "up and down" stages of the economy. Meanwhile, "The differences in the economy also depend a lot on external factors such as capital sources, markets, "hot - cold" of geopolitics.. Although Vietnam's industrial park system has developed strongly in recent times, making very positive and effective contributions to the economy, there are still some shortcomings that need to be resolved soon. What are current specific shortcomings, sir? First, the occupancy rate of industrial parks is still low, up to 121/414 industrial parks are still in the stage of compensation and site clearance, not fully utilizing a large amount of land capital in the economy. The technical infrastructure of the Industrial Park has been improved but does not yet have the necessary and modern conditions to compete with other industrial parks in the region and internationally; The industrial park development model is still multi-sectoral and multi-sectoral while the development motivation is mainly resulted from land potential. Many new industrial park models have not yet been built and developed (high-tech industrial parks, ecological industrial parks...) to take advantage of the favorable factors and demands of international investors on green development, environmental protection... and at the same time to meet the requirements of Vietnam's green economic development trend Therefore, although the State is focusing on solving housing problems for workers in industrial parks and social housing in general, this problem cannot be solved "overnight". The Government has issued Decree 35/2022 ND-CP regulating the management of economic zones and industrial zones with clear definitions of industrial zones such as: export processing zones, supporting industrial zones, specialized industrial zones, ecological industrial zones, and hi- tech industrial zones, extended industrial parks... and detailed regulations and instructions on the formation, management and development of all types of industrial parks. However, there remains many obstacles in developing green industrial parks to eliminate waste and minimize negative impacts on the environment... In addition, regulations and orientations for the development of industrial parks are issued but are still scattered in many other legal documents. Along with that, administrative procedures still need to be further improved. Only by overcoming these limitations can we quickly promote the development of highly effective types of industrial parks, following the green and high-tech development orientation set for the coming development period. Could you please tell us the factors affecting the development of industrial parks? According to experience, the elements needed to develop a complete and modern industrial park in the right direction are encapsulated in 4 words: "Mechanism - Talent - Mind - Vision". In particular, the mechanism is the state management mechanism, including development orientation, legal system and regulations on administrative management for administrative procedures that need to be carried out. Finance is the financial source needed to invest and do business. The mind refers to a good mind, in addition to the benefits of businesses and individuals... businesses also need to best fulfill their obligations to the State, to workers, with high social responsibility. Finally, Vision aims at the vision of the business leader when evaluating and encompassing, identifying general development trends and finding the most appropriate and effective handling approach. Which one plays the main role among such above factors? Basically, successful development of the industrial park mainly depends on businesses, entrepreneurs - investors. Because among all four necessary elements above, only one requirement belongs to the State side that is associated with the word "Mechanisim", which is to perfect the management and development mechanism of industrial parks. This requirement is very important and has a "midwife" meaning for the development of the industrial park system. Next, the remaining 3 factors required are "Talent - Mind - Vision" all on the business side and depend on the talent of the business leader. However, under the impact of the rapid development of the scientific and technical revolution, businesses are required to strive to become digital businesses, as digital transformation is no longer a long-term vision and goal. but has become a mandatory practice. Businesses must be equipped with the knowledge and technical means to participate in the digital transformation process of the Vietnamese economy in particular and the world in general in order to develop without falling behind. Thus, it can be said that the development of Vietnam's industrial park system depends mainly on the development and contribution of businesses, on the principle of making the most of external capital towards investment quality and national defense security protection. Thank you, sir!