HCMC – HCMC can establish a free trade zone and enjoy several special mechanisms after the National Assembly on December 11 approved amendments to a resolution exclusively designed for the city to gain higher growth.
Lawmakers passed the revised Resolution 98/2023 with 433 out of 438 votes in favor. The new rules will take effect on December 12, 2025.
The HCMC free trade zone will be a designated area aimed at piloting special incentive policies to attract investment, finance, trade, high-quality services, export activities, manufacturing, and research and development (R&D). It is also expected to help draw skilled workers. The zone will be linked to the Cai Mep Ha port area.
The HCMC People’s Council will set procedures for establishing or adjusting the zone’s boundaries. The city government will approve these boundaries and manage the zone under regulations that apply to industrial parks and economic zones.
Under the resolution, the chairman of the HCMC People’s Committee may allocate or lease land to investors in the zone without land-use auctions or investor-selection bidding, except for commercial housing projects. Investors developing infrastructure in the zone will have similar rights and obligations to those operating industrial park infrastructure. The city will set the framework for infrastructure leasing fees.
Strategic investors must meet equity requirements of at least 20% of total investment for projects below VND30 trillion, and 15% for projects of VND30 trillion or more. In projects with multiple investors, at least one must contribute 30%, while others contribute at least 15%.
Income from strategic investment projects, including the expansion of Con Dao Airport and new priority projects, will be subject to a 10% corporate income tax rate for the duration of the project. Investors will receive a six-year tax exemption and a 50% tax reduction for the next 13 years.
The city may also acquire land for projects inside the free trade zone and for priority projects intended to attract strategic investors, in addition to cases already allowed under the Land Law. For these projects, the People’s Council may permit early surveys, measurements, asset assessments, and land-status checks before formal acquisition procedures begin.
Finance Minister Nguyen Van Thang said the free trade zone is a new model aimed at speeding up investment by allowing the “one-stop” administrative process. He said the special mechanisms would help shorten processing time and could also apply to industrial parks, export processing zones, high-tech parks, and digital technology zones.
Thang said the measures demonstrate the State’s commitment to investors and could support efforts to attract major firms to the International Financial Center in HCMC (IFC-HCM).
