The Vietnamese government and localities will create a more liberal investment environment and lower more fees, especially transport freights, in a move to lure more foreign investors, a deputy minister said Wednesday.

"Charges of many services such as telecommunications and air transport are being lowered, and the same rates have been applied to both local people and foreigners. Notably, transport freights will be slashed to enhance enterprises' competitiveness," deputy minister of Planning and Investment Tran Dinh Khien said at a press conference.

Vietnam will also apply the same rates of other services, land rental, and site clearance cost to both local and foreign investors soon, he said, noting that the Common Investment Law, applied to both foreign and domestic investment, will take effect in July.

"We encourage foreign investors to invest directly and indirectly in all fields which are not prohibited by the state.. We welcome foreign investors from the United States, Japan and other countries to invest in our information technology. It is one of our spearhead industries," the deputy minister said.

Vietnam attracted 5.89 billion U.S. dollars worth of foreign direct investment in 2005, up 40.2 percent over 2004, he noted. By March 20, it housed 6,162 foreign-invested projects with total registered capital of 52.6 billion dollars.

The press conference was held on the occasion of the 10th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam to review the socioeconomic development of Vietnam over the past 20 years, and introduce socioeconomic targets and realization plans between 2006 and 2010. The eight-day congress, starting on April 18, is to define orientations for Vietnam's socioeconomic development in the five-year period, and elect its new leadership board.

Vietnam, which posted annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 7.5 percent from 2001 to 2005, has targeted the rate of 7.5-8 percent in the 2006-2010 period, and GDP per capita of 1,050- 1,1090 dollars in 2010, up from 640 dollars in 2005.

To this end, the country is focusing on such measures as fostering foreign and domestic investment and enterprises of all kinds, and perfecting financial, monetary and salary polices, as well as its economic institution, Khien said, noting that it will "perfect legal frameworks for the formation and effective operation of various types of markets with focus on goods, services, realty, labor, finance, science and technology markets."

Vietnam will intensify the development of processing industry, and investment in such fields as energy, material production, high technology, electronics, intensive farming, transport, and urban infrastructure.

The country will also foster the development of private firms, and accelerate the equitization of state-owned enterprises, he said.

Source: Xinhua