Phát triển khu kinh tế một số nước châu Á và kinh nghiệm cho khu kinh tế Nam Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh ttta

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

NGUYEN VIET DUNG

DEVELOPING ECONOMIC ZONES
IN SOME ASIAN COUNTRIES AND EXPERIENCES FOR
THE SOUTHERN ECONOMIC ZONE OF HO CHI MINH CITY
Major: International Economics
Major code: 9 31 01 06

SUMMARY OF DOCTOR DISSERTATION IN ECONOMICS

Hanoi - 2022


The dissertation was completed at:
GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Scientific supervisors:
1. Assoc. Prof. PhD. Luu Ngoc Trinh
2. PhD. Bui Thi Thuy Nhi

Reviewer 1: PGS.TS. Nguyễn Việt Dũng
Reviewer 2: PGS.TS. Trịnh Thị Hoa Mai
Reviewer 3: PGS.TS. Doãn Kế Bôn

The dissertation will be defended at the Academy-level Committee of
Doctoral dissertation assessment at Graduate Academy of Social
Sciences, 477 Nguyen Trai Road, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi

At ___ date __month__ 2022

The dissertation can be found at:
-

Library of Graduate Academy of Social Sciences

-

Vietnam National Library


1
INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale of the research topic
Over the past five decades, the wave of development of economic zones
(EZs) with various forms has been a widespread trend in the world. Some
Asian countries in recent years have also chosen to develop EZs as a
breakthrough in the process of innovation, opening and integration. After
only a few decades, they have achieved miracles with the spectacularly
successful development of some of the most famous Special Economic
Zones (SEZs) in the world. What has helped countries like China, South
Korea, Malaysia... to make the miraculous development with these
admirable feats?
Vietnam has a strategic location in the Southeast Asia region, with a
coastline of more than 3,260 km, with deep-water seaports, large coastal
cities, which are very favorable for the development of Special Economic
Zones, Special Economic - Administrative Zone. In recent years, the
movement to develop various types of EZs in Vietnam is not only a
prominent highlight in the process of renovation, opening and integration,

but also a key to create a great impetus for economic development for each
locality, each region and the whole country. However, due to the lack of
necessary resources such as finance, human resources, technology...
especially the lack of proper and appropriate mechanisms and policies, our
country has reformed for a long time to open the market yet still not
developed an EZ at regional and global levels.
Ho Chi Minh City is a special urban center - a major economic, cultural social, educational, scientific and technological center of the country. The
city is also a hub for international exchange and integration (global


2
integration), a leading force with great attractiveness and pervasiveness to
the Southern Key Economic Region (SEA), the Mekong Delta region and
the whole country. Over the years, Ho Chi Minh City has always been at
the forefront in all breakthrough fields, creating a driving force for
economic growth, making great contributions to the overall development of
the country.
However, in recent years, the economic growth of Ho Chi Minh City has
been assessed as not commensurate with the position, role and potential of
this city. To truly be able to follow through on past successes, creating
momentum to overcome barriers, and shaping frameworks for future
success, Ho Chi Minh City needs to continue to make new breakthroughs.
The building and development of an EZ is also a good solution that can be
chosen to achieve this goal.
Currently, the Southern urban area of Ho Chi Minh City is considered as
a very dynamic development area of the city, with Tan Thuan Export
Processing Zone - the first export processing zone of the nation, Phu My
Hung model new urban area and Hiep Phuoc Port Industrial Park is
gradually being formed. The Southern part of the city is also assessed as
having almost all the prerequisite conditions to build and develop into an

EZ. The successful building and development of an EZ in the Southern
region of Ho Chi Minh City requires a scientific theoretical basis,
especially international practical experience of countries in the region with
focus on developing countries with similar political, economic and
development conditions to Vietnam. The research question was posed
"Through the lens of scientific theory, what experiences of some Asian


3
countries are useful for Vietnam and what conditions are needed to apply
those experiences?”
Stemming from the above practical requirements, PhD candidate chose
the topic " Developing economic zone in some Asian countries and
experiences for the Southern Economic Zone of Ho Chi Minh City " as the
research topic for the doctoral dissertation, with the hope that this study
will contribute to adding new research results in the theory and practice of
EZ development, providing policy makers, practitioners, and researchers
with more information resources.
2. Research purpose and objectives
- Overall research purpose: The dissertation aims to derive from the
study of international experiences and Vietnam’s actual conditions to
propose practical solutions towards the successful building and
development of the Southern Economic Zone of Ho Chi Minh City.
- Specific research objectives:
To achieve the above purpose, the dissertation needs to complete the
following specific research objectives:
+ To systematize a number of major theoretical and practical issues as a
scientific basis for the building and development of economic zones, to
indicate conditions and criteria for successful building and development of
an economic zone.

+ To analyze and evaluate the actual situation of building and
development of EZs in some Asian countries, to derive experiences in
building and developing an EZ.
+ To analyze and evaluate the capabilities and conditions of Ho Chi Minh
City in general and the Southern area of Ho Chi Minh City in particular in


4
meeting the criteria for successful building and development of economic
zones in this area.
+ On that basis, to propose a number of perspectives, orientations and
solutions for successful building and development of the Southern
Economic Zone of Ho Chi Minh City.
3. Research subject and study scope
- Research subject: To study theoretical and practical issues on the
building and development of economic zones worldwide, especially typical
ones in some Asian countries, as well as necessary conditions for building
and developing an economic zone in the Southern area of Ho Chi Minh
City.
- Study scope:
+ About time scope: The dissertation focuses on the timeline from the
1980s since China's first special economic zone was established.
+ About space scope: Study in the Southern area of Ho Chi Minh City
and typical EZ in Asia such as Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (China),
Incheon Free Economic Zone (South Korea) and Iskandar Special
Economic Zone or South Johor Economic Zone - SJER (Malaysia).
+ About content scope: Since the development of an economic entity
cannot be successful, if the entity is not built on a good foundation;
meaning in order to have a good economic entity, their development and
building must always be implemented hand-in-hand, closely linked and

interacting with each other. Therefore, although the dissertation topic refers
to the development of the EZ, in fact the research will study not only the
development but also the building of the EZ; in which emphasis is placed
on the study of the theoretical basis of the EZ, the practical study of the


5
building and development of some Asian EZs; and the conditions for the
formation and development of an economic zone in the Southern area of
Ho Chi Minh City.
4. Methodology and research methods
- Methodology and approach: The dissertation approaches the topic
through the theoretical lens of Marxism - Leninism: Dialectical
Materialism, Historical Materialism... and the theory of the disciplines:
International Economics, Development Economics, Economic Geography,
and Economic History... in order to present the problem from the
perspective of international experience with the aim at contributing to build
a practical basis for the successful development of the Southern Economic
Zone of Ho Chi Minh City. The dissertation will also combine theoretical
research and summary on practical and international success and failure
experiences, as well as the conditions for success and causes of failure of
typical EZs in Asian countries.
- Research methods:
In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the dissertation used
a combination of qualitative methods such as: literature review and
systematizing method, case study method, comparative and synthetic
methods, professional solution, score-board survey method...
+ Literature review and systematizing method: Documents are collected,
systemized and analyzed, combined with desk-based research to process
information related to the following contents: The role of the EZ,

experience in the building and development of the EZ and the conditions,
capabilities of the Southern are of Ho Chi Minh City to build and develop
an EZ.


6
+ Case study method: The studied cases are some EZs in China, South
Korea and Malaysia. The studied contents in these cases are: Context of
formation, process of building and developing EZs, experiences drawn
from these EZs.
+ Comparative method: In order to compare the current situation of the
Southern area of Ho Chi Minh City with the conditions and ability to meet
the success factors of an EZ, to compare the development experience of the
Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, the Incheon Free Economic Zone and
the Iskandar Special Economic Zone with the conditions of Ho Chi Minh
City.
+ Professional solution, score-board survey method: In order to develop
the success criteria of an EZ and assess the degree of satisfaction of the
success criteria of the Southern area of Ho Chi Minh City to develop into
an EZ. This method is employed through surveys and actual interviews
with officials and civil servants working in relevant departments, branches,
districts, institutes/schools in Ho Chi Minh City. The results of actual
investigation, surveys and interviews are primary information processed by
simple statistical methods with the mean value showing the level of
satisfaction of the conditions and capabilities of the Southern region of Ho
Chi Minh City to develop into an EZ.
- Data collection methods:
In this study, the author used secondary data sources including statistics,
reports of organizations, studies, documents, articles and reports presented
at conferences and seminars related to EZ policy and EZ development in

some Asian countries and Vietnam. Primary data is the results of
investigation, surveys and actual interviews with experts who are officials


and

civil

servants

working

7
in

departments/sectors,

districts,

institutes/universities related to the research content in Ho Chi Minh City.
5. Main scientific contributions of the dissertation
- This dissertation argues that: EZs have a long history of formation,
although they exist in many different forms, one thing in common is that
they all enjoy specific preferential mechanisms and policies compared to
the outside zones. EZs have both positive and negative impacts, but EZ
development is still a prominent trend in many countries, especially for
developing economies in the world.
- Developing a successful EZ can quickly create an economic and
technological breakthrough for a region or a country, which can have a
large spillover effect on the entire economy.

- To successfully develop an EZ, it is necessary to meet basic factors, but
determining success is still a matter of strong-enough institutions,
demonstrated through political commitment with a supportive coalition;
and policies with state intervention and private sector involvement.
The success of an EZ is to achieve the initial set of objectives and to
satisfy the basic conditions: Firstly, to have a large-enough scale to be able
to gather enterprises in the same industry and in many industries, and at the
same time ensure the best infrastructure to minimize costs, take advantage
of economies of scale and agglomeration. Secondly, the selected location
must be able to connect and create spillover effect. Thirdly, human
resources are guaranteed in terms of quality and quantity.
6. Theoretical and practical significance of the dissertation
The dissertation is a practical scientific research work with theoretical
significance. The paper has logically systematized basic theoretical issues


8
on EZs and EZ development with important aspects. The study has
synthesized concepts and types of EZs through many different perspectives;
identified objectives, connotations and factor determinants of the success or
failure of the EZ.
The dissertation also has practical value which is proven by: Assessing of
the role, trends and practice of building and developing EZs worldwide;
analyzing and deriving experience lessons from some Asian countries in
building and developing EZs; and proposing oriented solutions towards the
successful building and development of an EX in the Southern area of Ho
Chi Minh City.
7. Structure of the dissertation
In addition to the introduction, conclusion, list of abbreviations, list of
references, appendices and list of tables, figures... the dissertation is

structured into 4 chapters with specific contents as follows:
Chapter 1. Literature review on research works related to the dissertation topic.
Chapter 2. Theoretical and practical basis for the building and
development of economic zones.
Chapter 3. Situation of building and developing economic zones in Asian
countries.
Chapter 4. Some solutions for building and developing the Southern
Economic Zone of Ho Chi Minh City.


9
Chapter 1
LITERATURE REVIEW ON RESEARCH WORKS RELATED TO
THE DISSERTATION TOPIC
1.1. Studies related to the role of economic zones
Types of EZs have increasingly played a positive role in the economic
development of each country and region. EZs not only contribute to the
growth through promoting trade, investment and development, but also
participate in solving labor problems, creating jobs and stabilizing society.
Today, the EZ is also a tool for testing reform policies and attracting and
transferring new technologies.
1.2. Studies related to the experience of building and developing
economic zones of Asian countries
Asian countries have built and developed EZs in a variety of ways. There
are many domestic and foreign research works related to the topic of the
building and development of EZs in Asian countries. These studies have
achieved many important results from both theory and practice viewpoints.
1.3. Researches related to policies, orientations and experiences in
building and developing economic zones in Vietnam
Recently, researches and articles on EZs in Vietnam have developed

strongly since the establishment of EZs attracted the attention of
researchers, policy makers and the public. In term of content, these studies
mainly analyze the policies, orientations, factors affecting the success or
failure of various types of EZs in Vietnam in recent years, as well as
summarize many foreign experiences to develop EZs in Vietnam.
1.4. Overview of previous studies
1.4.1. Scientifically agreed issues


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(i) EZs in the world have existed for a long time, through many forms,
today's free EZs are considered as a form of modern EZs. Today's free EZs
are not merely an area with concentration on production and trade, but it
has a broader connotation as an area with special institutions applied to
create a business and appealing living environment to attract resources for
growth.
(ii) EZ development has been a common trend of countries around the
world, especially of developing economies. The development of EZs is an
important policy in reform, integration and development of governments
and localities. However, the development of EZs for each country and each
locality may have different specific goals such as: Piloting reforms,
attracting FDI, transferring technology, creating jobs, or participating more
deeply into the regional and global production networks... In general, no
matter what goal they come from, they ultimately work towards the
common goal of integration, reform and development
(iii) The developing process of industrial zones and EZs in Vietnam in
recent years is necessary, appropriate, and positively affects the process of
economic restructuring and poverty reduction. However, in the past time,
industrial zones and EZs still have certain limitations such as: Technology
content is still low, the suitability of industries in investment structure is

not high; Localities and investors in the development of industrial park
infrastructure still give priority to attracting investment to fulfill the
industrial zones; The industry linkage of enterprises and supporting
industries in industrial zones and economic zones is still weak...
(iv) The conditions to ensure the success of an EZ are: Selecting an
appropriate construction site is a prerequisite for success; Developing EZ


11
must build a strong-enough institution with outstanding points, having a
good plan, including the plan for building, development, advertising
campaign; The EZ must ensure an attractive and low-cost investment
environment; Operation and management of EZs should be agile and
compact; The EZ must be well guaranteed in terms of infrastructure and
services; and Making good linkages with the inland. In addition, studies
also consider strong political support from the government along with
involvement of the private sector as a determining factor for success.
1.4.2. Study narratives
(1) There has not been a comprehensive and systematic study on the
building and development of an EZ in Ho Chi Minh City. (2) The previous
studies on building and development of EZs are mostly practical
application rather than summarizing practices to build a theoretical
framework or design a model. (3) There is no research on model of
building and development of EZs for a province/city like Ho Chi Minh
City.
Therefore, the problem needs to continue to focus on solving: (1)
Systematize the theoretical and practical basis of EZ development in the
current conditions and situation. (2) Analyze and assess the actual situation
of the development of an EZ in the southern area of Ho Chi Minh City. (3)
Propose orientations, models, methods, and solutions for the building and

development of the Southern EZ of Ho Chi Minh City in the current
situation
1.5. Further research directions of the dissertation
(1) To successfully build and develop an EZ, what conditions have Asian
countries created? (2) What have Asian countries done and how to


12
successfully build and develop EZs? (3) Compare with the experience of
Asian countries, clarify what conditions the Southern area of Ho Chi Minh
City has acquired to be able to successfully build an economic zone? and
(4) What does Ho Chi Minh City need to do to create and supplement the
necessary conditions and prerequisites to successfully build an EZ in the
Southern area in the upcoming future?

Chapter 2
THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL BASIS FOR THE BUILDING
AND DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC ZONES
2.1. Theoretical basis for EZ development
2.1.1. EZ concept
In this study, an EZ is referred to an integrated socio-economic entity,
which has clear geographical boundaries within the sovereignty of a
country but relatively isolated from the external territory; with a high
degree of autonomy; and a specific administrative and economic
management mechanism to create outstanding incentives.
2.1.2. Characteristics of popular types of EZs
Economic zones in the world have been formed and evolved over
time. There have been many models of EZs as follows:
- Free Trade Zones (FTZ)
- Export Processing Zones (EPZ)

- Special Economic Zones (SEZ)
- Specialized Zones (SZ)
- Single Factory (SF)
- Enterprise Zones (EZ)
2.1.3. Objectives of building and development of economic zones
Firstly, to attract FDI and developing science and technology.


13
Secondly, to develop "hard and soft" infrastructure.
Thirdly, to promote trade under constrained conditions that cannot be
reformed.
Fourthly, to solve the pressure of population growth and job demand.
Fifthly, to play the role as a new policy and approach "laboratory".
Sixthly, the EZ becomes the pole/center or growth engine of the
country/or region.
2.1.4. Criteria for evaluating the development of EZs
Assessing success or failure when developing an EZ through the
following criteria:
2.1.4.1. Vision, goals
2.1.4.2. Scope factor
2.1.4.3. Location and connectivity
2.1.4.4. Industry concentration
2.1.4.5. Hard and soft infrastructure
2.1.4.6. Policy framework
In summary, the research showed that a successful EZ must have:
Firstly, the scope is large enough to be able to gather businesses in the
same industry and from many industries, at the same time, good
infrastructure to reduce costs and take advantage of business
advantages. Second, connectivity, pervasiveness, and must be well

managed. Second, connectivity, pervasiveness, and must be well
managed. Thirdly, human resources must ensure in terms of quality and
quantity.
2.1.5. Conditions and possibilities for a successful EZ
2.1.5.1. Basic conditions for a successful EZ: (1) Location; (2) Human
resources; (3) Infrastructure; (4) Industry and scope of competition; (5)
Connection with the domestic economy; and (6) Challenges from the
international environment.


14
2.1.5.2. Possibilities determining the success of EZs: (1) Political
commitment and coalition support; (2) State policy and intervention; (3)
Involvement of the private sector.
2.1.6. Basic contents of the building and development of EZs
2.1.6.1. Creating consensus on awareness and cooperation of
stakeholders
2.1.6.2. Shaping a legal framework
2.1.6.3. Designing policy model
2.1.6.4. Deploying the construction of economic zones
2.1.6.5. Organizing a management and execution mechanism
2.1.6.6. Attracting human resources
2.1.7. Roadmap for building and development of EZs
There are two roadmaps for the development of popular EZs in the world,
for the EZs built by the government, the roadmap is as follows: (1) The
government chooses a suitable location, (2) The government designs a legal
framework, defines a specific institutional model, (3) Attracting investors.
The second roadmap is more common for EZs jointly developed by the
government and the private sector. According to the following roadmap: (1)
The Government together with strategic investors choose a favorable

location to build the economic zone, (2) The Government together with
strategic investors negotiate to build a legal framework, a special
institutional model of the EZ, (3) Attracting investors.
2.2. Practical basis for building and development of EZs
2.2.1. The need to build and develop EZs in the world
2.2.2. Practice of building and development of EZs in the world
2.2.2.1. The development of the EZ in terms of quantity and scale
2.2.2.2. The development of the EZ in terms of patterns
2.2.2.3. The development of the goals and role of Ezs


15
Summary of Chapter 2
The concept and form of an EZ evolve according to the goals, roles and
conditions of each country through each stage of development. Regardless
of the form of development or existence, EZs are associated with the
following objectives: Attracting investment; Developing infrastructure;
Promoting commercial development; Solving labor and employment
problems. In particular, the EZ also has played a great meaning as a
"laboratory" for new policies, as a center/pole to create the growth engine
of a country or region.
Evaluation of the success of an economic zone is usually through the
following criteria: Firstly, having a large-enough scale, good infrastructure
to reduce costs, taking advantage of economies of scale and agglomeration.
Secondly, the location must be able to connect and create spillover effect.
Thirdly, human resources must be ensured in both quantity and quality and
must be well managed.
Building and developing a successful EZ requires important conditions,
which are: Location, human resources, infrastructure, industry and
competitive scope, ability to connect with domestic and foreign economies,

or ability to withstand the pressure of global competition... At the same
time, the building of a superior institution is reflected through the strong
political commitment of the government, the intervention policy of the
state, the participation of the region, the participation of private sector as a
decisive role in the success of an EZ.
The connotation of EZ development includes: (1) Creating a consensus
on awareness and cooperation of stakeholders; (2) Shaping a legal
framework for the EZ to ensure its superiority; (3) Designing models,
selecting main industries and fields, implementing completed infrastructure
construction, planning preferential policies; (4) Selecting the appropriate
location; and (5) Attracting and developing human resources.


16
In fact, nowadays, the trend of developing EZs around the world is
occurring very quickly. The process of developing EZs in the world is
shown through many lenses, from the growth in quantity and scale; form;
or its role objective.
In this chapter, the basic contents of EZ development are presented based
on the factor determinants, the ability determining EZ success which is
verified through the criteria for evaluating the development of the EZ
analyzed as a general analytical framework of the dissertation.
Chapter 3
SITUATION OF BUILDING AND DEVELOPING ECONOMIC
ZONES IN ASIAN COUNTRIES
3.1. Features of building and development of EZs in Asian countries
EZs being built and developed in Asian countries have the following
characteristics: Firstly, the building and development of Asian EZs is a
competition to attract resources. Secondly, the EZs in Asia are diverse in
type. Thirdly, EZs in Asia are developed in strategic locations. Fourthly,

the source of capital for the development of Asian EZs is diverse. Sixthly,
Asian EZs perform their roles well as: hubs for technology transfer, export
promotion, and job creation.
3.2. Situation of building and development of some EZs in China,
Korea and Malaysia
3.2.1. Shenzhen Special Economic Zone - China
One of the most successful SEZs in the world today is China's Shenzhen SEZ.
Shenzhen was formed in the early 1980s, from a small fishing village with more
than 30,000 inhabitants. Nowadays, SEZ Shenzhen has become a world-class
financial and technology center.
3.2.2. Incheon Free Economic Zone - South Korea


17
Incheon Free Economic Zone, with a total area of 209.38 sqr. km2,
located in the middle of the Korean peninsula, in the center of the West
Sea (Yellow Sea), close to many important Chinese cities, such as
Beijing and Shanghai
3.2.3. Iskandar Special Economic Zone - Malaysia
Iskandar is an SEZ located in the Johor state of Malaysia. Over the past
15 years, Iskandar SEZ has developed rapidly and been considered as an
attractive international urban center for investors to work, live and play in
Malaysia and the whole Southeast Asia region
3.2.4. Comparing the formation background, contents and experience
in building and development of 3 EZs in China, Korea and Malaysia
Table 3.1. Formation background of 3 EZs in China, South Korea
and Malaysia
Shenzhen
(China)

Incheon
(South Korea)

Iskandar
(Malaysia)

- Area: 1,950 sqr. km

- Area: 209.38 sqr. km

- Area: 2,217 sqr. km

- Established in 1980,
when
China
implemented the reform
and opening policy.
Conducting
experimenting policy as
a "policy lab"

- Established in 2003,
when
South
Korea
reformed its economic
institutions on a new
development
mindset
basis.

- Took advantage of
the geo-economic political position for
development to create
new impetus.

- Established in 2006,
when the Government
introduced the economic
liberalization
policy,
relaxation of regulations
and improvement of
investment policies.
Contributed
to
making Malaysia a
developed country by
2020.

Table 3.2. Comparing lessons of 3 EZs in China, South Korea and Malaysia
Shenzhen
(China)
- Acquired strong
political will of the
central government of
China and Guangdong
province

Incheon
(South Korea)

- Chose a prime
location
with
easy
access to high-quality
infrastructure
- Decided the right

Iskandar
(Malaysia)
- Took advantage of
the strategic location,
bordering Singapore as
the development center
Identified
key


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- Determined the
right strategic location
- Built a strong
enough
specific
institution
Possessed
appropriate industry
development strategy
- Provided attractive
incentives policies

time to develop
Acquired
outstanding
administrative
institution with an open
"one-stop
shop"
mechanism
- Possessed policy to
attract large “leading
bird” TNCs
- Provided good initial
support
from
the
government.

industries
for
development
- Well implemented
social security policies to
attract
high-quality
human resources
- Successfully built a
strong local brand.

3.3. Lessons from the building and development of EZs in Asian

countries
3.3.1. Lessons on identifying the success conditions of EZs
- Firstly, building visions and goals; Secondly, determining the scale;
Thirdly, determining the location and connectivity; Fourthly, focusing on
professions; Fifthly, building hard and soft infrastructure; Sixthly, policy
framework.
3.3.2 Lessons on the contents of building and development of EZs
Through the synthesis study 3 EZs in China, South Korea, and Malaysia,
the dissertation summarized some important experiences to develop a
successful EZ: Firstly, choosing an appropriate strategic location; Secondly,
deciding the appropriate investment time; Thirdly, building strong-enough
specific institutions; Fourthly, planning a strategy to develop spearhead
industries, appropriate, towards sustainability in all three pillars: economy,
society and environment; Fifthly, designing attractive incentive policies;
Sixthly, implementing an effective marketing program with a strategy to
attract strategic investors such as the "leading bird", building a strong local
brand.


19
Summary of Chapter 3
EZ development in Asia in recent times has emerged as a strong wave;
indeed it is the race and fierce competition among countries in the region to
attract investment. Countries often reserve strategic locations for the
development of EZs. Developed EZs are very diverse in size, type, and
investment capita... these characteristics also depend on the development
conditions and circumstances of each country.
Researching the experience of developing typical EZs in countries with
similar development conditions and goals as Vietnam, and the scale is
similar to the area studied by the dissertation. Research showed that,

although the circumstances and time of establishment of each EZ are
different, the emergence of EZs carries very important tasks for each
country in testing, implementing new policies, pioneering in opening and
integrating, or creating a driving force for pervasive development in the
region or the whole country...
Factor determinants contributing to the success of the above economic
zone are: Selecting an appropriate strategic location; Deciding the
appropriate investment time; Building strong-enough specific institutions;
Planning strategies to develop spearhead industries, suitable, in a
sustainable direction; Designing attractive preferential policies in areas
such as: Investment attraction, finance, land, business support, social
security and human resource development...; and Implementing effective
marketing program, building strong local brand. Moreover, the important
initial conditions determining the success of the EZ are political will, strong
commitment from the government and local authorities, and initial
government support in developing essential infrastructure.


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Chapter 4
SOME SOLUTIONS FOR BUILDING AND DEVELOPING THE
SOUTHERN ECONOMIC ZONE
OF HO CHI MINH CITY
4.1. Necessity, perspective, orientation for the building and
development of the Southern EZ of Ho Chi Minh City
4.1.1. The need to build and develop the Southern EZ of Ho Chi Minh
City
4.1.2. Perspectives, development orientation of the Southern area of Ho
Chi Minh City
4.2. Conditions and possibilities for the building and development of

an EZ in the Southern area of Ho Chi Minh City
In order to assess the conditions and ability to successfully build and
develop an EZ in the Southern area of Ho Chi Minh City, the study has
based on the results of analysis and comparison of natural, socio-economic,
cultural and social conditions of this area with the degree of meeting the
success criteria of an economic zone.
This study has also referenced the set of 10 criteria for developing a
special EZ proposed by the Ministry of Planning and Investment in the
Draft Report of the project titled "Determining the locality with conditions
to develop the Master Plan on the Special Administrative - Economy
Region in Vietnam” in July 2013.
4.2.1. Location and scope
4.2.2. Human resources
4.2.3. Infrastructure
4.2.4. Industry concentration and scope of competition
4.2.5. The ability to connect with the domestic economy


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4.2.6. Resilience to the challenges of the international environment
4.2.7. Political determination of the City government
4.3. Main solutions for building and developing a EZ in the Southern
area of Ho Chi Minh City
4.3.1. Solutions to shape the legal framework for the Southern EZ of
Ho Chi Minh City
- Developing the Southern EZ of Ho Chi Minh City following the model
of "Special Economic Zone" as a city-level administrative unit directly
under Ho Chi Minh City.
- Building specific economic institutions for the South City EZ with
special policies.

4.3.2. Proposal on areas for the development of the Southern EZ of Ho
Chi Minh City
The proposed area for the development of the Southern EZ of Ho Chi
Minh City covers the following districts: District 7, Nha Be district, and
Can Gio district, with a total area of 840.24 square kilometers.
4.3.3. Design and implementation solutions for the building of the
Southern EZ of Ho Chi Minh City
- Attracting and using investment capital effectively
- Planning EZ towards sustainable development
- Orienting to attract major industries and fields: (1) Developing marine
and maritime economy; (2) Developing logistics services and exporting
with high added value; (3) Developing banking and financial services
industries; (4) Developing tourism and entertainment services; (5) and
Developing high-quality human resources training.


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4.3.4. Solutions to attract human resources for the Southern EZ of Ho
Chi Minh City
- Solutions to create a good living and working environment
- Solutions to build a good welfare system
4.4. Recommendations
4.4.1. For the Government
- Perfecting the specific institutions for EZs, submitting to the National
Assembly for the promulgation of the Law on Special administrativeeconomic units.
- Proposing to the National Assembly to adjust, amend and supplement
laws related to EZ development.
- Establishing a National Steering Committee on the building of special
administrative and technical units headed by the Prime Minister.
- Prime Minister: Approving the addition of the Southern Economic Zone

of Ho Chi Minh City to the Development Plan of Vietnam's EZs in the
period of 2020 - 2025.
4.4.2. For the government of Ho Chi Minh City
- Conducting research and submitting to the Government to adjust and
supplement the development planning of the Southern EZ of Ho Chi Minh
City.
- Organizing the development of the project on the establishment of the
Southern EZ of Ho Chi Minh City
- Preparing resources for implementation.


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Summary of Chapter 4
In this chapter, the dissertation has done the followings:
- Analyzed the need, perspective and orientation for the building and
development of the Southern Economic Zone of Ho Chi Minh City.
- Analyzed the conditions and possibilities for the building and
development of an economic zone in the Southern area of Ho Chi Minh
City. The author applied comparative method, professional solution, scoreboard survey method... to discussed and recorded experts’ opinions on the
degree of achievement of the success criteria of an EZ. The results showed
that the Southern area of the city meets the conditions for a successful
development of EZ in the near future.
- Proposed 4 groups of solutions: (1) Solutions to shape the legal
framework; (2) Proposal on areas for EZ development; (3) Design and
implementation solutions for the building of EZs; (4) Solutions to attract
human resources.
- Recommendations to the Government, the Government of Ho Chi Minh
City to develop an EZ in the Southern area of Ho Chi Minh City in a
feasible and effective way.
CONCLUSION

EZs have both positive and negative impacts, but EZ development is still
a dominant trend in many countries, especially for developing economies.
Developing a successful EZ will create an economic and technological
breakthrough for a region or a country, which can have a large spillover
effect on the entire economy.
Research showed that, in order to develop a successful EZ, it is necessary
to pay attention to important conditions, which are: Location, human
resources, infrastructure, industry and competitive scope, ability to connect
with the domestic economy, or the ability to cope with global competitive
pressures... However, a dominant institution comes from the strong