Law on special economic zone still has no legal framework The world’s billionaires have shown interest in Vietnam’s special economic zones (SEZ), but not until a legal framework is set up. One year has elapsed since the international workshop on SEZ development was held in Quang Ninh province. However, there is still no information about the long awaited legal framework. The participants at the workshop all hoped that the draft law on SEZ would be submitted to the National Assembly soon, paving the way for the Van Don SEZ establishment. Prior to that, the eighth Communist Party Congress decided to set up three SEZs in Vietnam, Van Don SEZ in Quang Ninh province, Bac Van Phong in Khanh Hoa province and Phu Quoc island in Kien Giang. However, several months later, at meetings with local authorities, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said the decision was to delay the law compilation. Most recently, the SEZ story has been put into discussion again when the draft law on local government organization was opened for public opinion. The draft law mentions the concept of special administration and economic units to be established under National Assembly’s decisions. The units are defined as zones operating with special social and economic mechanisms. Local authorities would be organized in a special way. National Assembly Chair Nguyen Sinh Hung said there would be no common law to cover all SEZs, but there would be specific laws with specific mechanism for every SEZ to be designed based on geographical positions and existing developmental conditions. However, there is no detailed information about the legal framework to operate SEZs in Vietnam. Professor Ha Ton Vinh, the investment advisor to the Quang Ninh provincial authorities, said he met four billionaires and they all showed their interests in making investments in SEZs in Vietnam. However, Vietnam needs to create a transparent legal framework with a detailed roadmap for development, or it will not be able to convince the billionaires to enter Vietnam. Andrew Grant from McKinsey Singapore said that policy and institutional changes were the two most important things for SEZs. Meanwhile, nothing related to investment incentives has been made clear. Both Quang Ninh and Kien Giang provincial authorities are awaiting the legal framework to be set up, with patience. For the time being, they are preparing necessary infrastructure items for the SEZs in the future, including airports, roads and calling for investment. Dr. Tran Dinh Thien, head of the Vietnam Economics Institute, said the success of SEZs depends on the legal framework. “SEZ is the nest for the phoenix to spawn. If we make the nests for chicken, the phoenix will not come,” he said. DDDN