On the morning of September 21, at the Government headquarters, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a meeting of the Government Standing Committee working with large enterprises on solutions to contribute to the country's socio-economic development. Also attending the meeting were Deputy Prime Ministers: Tran Hong Ha, Le Thanh Long, Ho Duc Phoc; leaders of ministries, central agencies; leaders of enterprises: Vin Group, Hoa Phat, Thaco, KN Holdings, Sun Group, T&T, Geleximco, Minh Phu Seafood, Masan, Sovico, TH, Refrigeration Electrical Engineering (REE).

Leaders of ministries and branches said they would accept the opinions of enterprises to perfect legal regulations to create favorable conditions for enterprises to develop. At the same time, they hoped that enterprises would pay attention to investing in developing transport infrastructure; continue to unite and develop together to contribute to the country.

At the Conference of the Government Standing Committee working with large enterprises on solutions to contribute to the country's socio-economic development, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Do Duc Duy discussed a number of issues proposed by enterprises related to: Land, environment and minerals.

Regarding land, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Do Duc Duy shared that today's conference was held after more than a month of implementing the new Land Law, which includes many changes compared to the 2013 Land Law. Many contents proposed by businesses have been updated, adjusted, and supplemented in the new Land Law and the Decrees guiding its implementation.

Regarding the opinions of enterprises raising difficulties in developing industrial zones, especially the target of using agricultural land or land for other purposes, according to Minister Do Duc Duy, the current Land Law has stipulated the target of land use according to provincial planning. Yesterday (September 20), the Ministry sent a document to the provinces and centrally-run cities requesting them to comply with the provisions of the Land Law and guiding Decrees.

Regarding Sun Group's proposal regarding land allocation according to site clearance progress and land price calculation according to land allocation time, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Do Duc Duy affirmed that the Land Law and the guiding Decree have been stipulated correctly as above, land is allocated to where land is cleared, and land price is determined at what time land is allocated.

The Law and Decree guiding the handling of transitional cases also state that if land is allocated from January 1, 2005 (ie the time the 2003 Land Law took effect) until now, land use fees have not been calculated, then the time to determine land use fees is also determined from the time of land allocation.

For land used for mixed purposes, there are also specific regulations to calculate land use fees according to mixed land types, such as Sun Group's projects on tourism development.

Regarding Gleximco's proposal to allocate land to strategic investors to implement large-scale projects, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment fully agrees with the adjustment of bidding regulations. The Prime Minister has assigned the Ministry of Planning and Investment to study and select strategic investors by directly appointing investors rather than through bidding auctions.

Also related to Gleximco's proposal on paying land use fees once or for 50 years for apartment buildings. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the National Assembly has decided that the form of ownership of apartment buildings is long-term, so long-term ownership requires land for long-term use and paying land use fees is residential land. In the case of building houses for rent, it is land for business services. In this case, according to the Land Law, investors can choose to pay once for the entire rental period or pay annually.

Regarding environmental content, investors also expressed their opinions on administrative reform. Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Do Duc Duy said that the Ministry has proposed to amend Decree 08 on Environmental Protection, according to which about 11% of environmental procedures will be reduced, meaning they will not have to be implemented. The remaining 56% of procedures that previously had to go to the Ministry will now be transferred to localities.

Regarding minerals, previously, mining was assigned to enterprises and when finished, the mine was closed. The approach was that enterprises would close the mine themselves and return it to the State. However, according to the 2010 Mineral Law and Decree 158 of 2016, in order to complete the mine closure, enterprises must fulfill their financial obligations to the State. Therefore, this has led to problems with Quy Sa mine and possibly Thach Khe mine.

Therefore, following the Prime Minister's direction, next week, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to propose to the Government that the mines will still be closed, while financial obligations will be recorded in the decision approving the mine closure project and the obligations binding on investors. The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment said that this issue can be completely resolved for both Quy Sa and Thach Khe mines.