The economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City and the Central Highlands coffee-growing province of Dak Lak agreed to set comprehensive socio-economic development cooperation as their long-term strategic task in the 2010-2015.

That task aims to fully tap each locality’s potential for development and integration, agreed HCM City and Dak Lak authorities at their meeting in Buon Ma Thuot on August 13, where they also reviewed what they have progressed in their socio-economic development cooperation programme.

HCM City said it will share with Dak Lak experiences it has drawn from the attraction of investment, including those in the reform of administrative procedures and the introduction of incentives for investors.

For its part, Dak Lak province pledged to continue providing assistance for HCM City investors, including supports for in site clearance, tax policies, and administrative procedures.

HCM City investors have since 2003 established 49 projects capitalising at over 8.26 trillion VND in Dak Lak province. Of those projects, which have involved in industry, trade and services, 15 have been operating, with Saigon CoopMart, Intimex supermarket and the Saigon-Dak Lak beverage plant being noteworthy.

In the meantime, HCM City investors are embarking on construction of facilities of 10 projects totalling more than 2.5 trillion VND in trade, services, hydroelectricity, agriculture and forestry in Dak Lak.

Dak Lak authorities said their locality’s socio-economic cooperation programme with HCM City has since 2006 reaped encouraging outcomes that basically met the set targets.

However, the Central Highlands province pointed to HCM City businesses’ slowness in carrying out their invested projects in the locality even when their licences have been granted./.