Lai Chau: Unleashing opportunities, welcoming investment waves

Currently, the province is actively transforming its potentials and advantages into powerful growth drivers through a synchronous planning strategy, drastic institutional reforms, and a consistent commitment to accompanying businesses and investors.

Deputy National Assembly Chairman Le Minh Hoan inspects ginseng plants being domesticated at the conservation garden.

Drivers from a Multi-Sector Economy

Lai Chau is a land rich in potential but requires specialized and long-term extraction methods. It holds the largest rare earth reserves in Vietnam, creating a foundation for establishing a high-tech mining and advanced construction materials manufacturing industry.

In addition, its steep river systems provide abundant hydropower, making Lai Chau one of the major renewable energy and hydropower centers in the region.

Despite facing heavy geographical pressure from mountainous terrain, Lai Chau’s land structure opens up a vast space for large-scale agricultural and forestry development, with agricultural land accounting for up to 71% of the total natural area. The diversity in terrain and climate variation by altitude provides the natural basis for the province to develop ecological and circular agricultural models. This is executed through core product chains such as tea, macadamia, rubber, cinnamon, rare medicinal herbs, and cold-water aquaculture.

Nature has also blessed Lai Chau with a majestic system of scenic spots featuring top-tier peaks in Vietnam, including Pu Si Lung, Pu Ta Leng, Bach Moc Luong Tu, alongside the O Quy Ho Pass, Sin Ho Plateau, and unique community tourism villages that are defining the Lai Chau tourism brand.

The harmony between natural landscapes and the rich cultural heritage of 20 ethnic groups serves as unique material for the province to develop cultural, festival, and spiritual tourism products.

Furthermore, with a border stretching over 265 km adjacent to Yunnan Province (China), the Ma Lu Thang International Border Gate, along with secondary border gates and openings, serves as vital commercial infrastructure helping Lai Chau establish a logistics corridor and develop its border-gate economy.

Leverage from Policies and Companion Ship

Over the past years, to exploit its existing potential, Lai Chau province has issued many favorable policies for investment and business activities. The province has implemented the Department and Local Competitiveness Index (DDCI) while establishing a Special Task Force to promptly resolve difficulties for non-budget projects. Administrative procedures have been reviewed, amended, and shortened. Investment and business registration procedures are optimized, with corporate registration certificates issued within no more than 2 days, investment policy decisions granted in less than 2/3 of the regulated time, and construction permits issued within no more than 10 days.

Lai Chau Provincial Party Committee Secretary Le Minh Ngan and the working delegation inspect the Public Administration Service Center in Sin Suoi Ho commune.

According to Mr. Pham Hong Truong, Director of the Lai Chau Department of Finance, during the 2026-2030 period, Lai Chau province identifies attracting investment into deep processing of agricultural products, medicinal herb development, local specialties, and the border-gate economy as core directions. This aims to effectively exploit local advantages and gradually build sustainable production, processing, and consumption value chains.

For the deep processing of agricultural products and local specialties such as Lai Chau Ginseng, tea, cinnamon, and macadamia, the province is focusing on synchronously deploying various support mechanisms to create the most favorable conditions for investors. First and foremost, Lai Chau prioritizes land funds and infrastructure for deep processing projects linked with concentrated raw material zones, encouraging the application of modern technology to improve product quality according to OCOP and organic export standards.

Regarding Lai Chau Ginseng and other precious medicinal herbs, the province's strategy focuses on conservation combined with economic development. This will gradually form a center for seedling production, concentrated raw material zones, and a high-value-added medicinal processing industry. The province particularly encourages businesses to invest in research, deep processing, and the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, functional foods, and health care products from native ginseng and medicinal materials.

For the tea industry, Lai Chau concentrates on attracting investment into refined and deep processing, improving product quality, and diversifying high-end tea product lines to serve domestic and export markets. This development of tea zones will also be integrated with experiential, ecological, and cultural tourism.

In addition to effectively implementing central government incentive policies regarding land rent exemption and reduction, access to credit, labor training, infrastructure development, and trade promotion:

Currently, to effectively implement Resolution No. 05 dated September 19, 2025, of the 15th Provincial Party Congress, the Provincial People's Committee has directed specialized agencies to advise on issuing a Resolution by the Provincial People's Council. This will regulate support policies for commodity agriculture and medicinal herb development geared toward a green economy for the 2026-2030 period. This policy framework focuses on financial support for models applying organic, VietGAP, and GACP-WHO standards, supporting the issuance of growing area codes, and promoting administrative reform to create a transparent investment environment.

Specifically for border-gate economic development, Lai Chau identifies this as a highly potential sector thanks to its border adjacent to China. The province is focusing on investing in and upgrading the infrastructure of the Ma Lu Thang border gate area, developing logistics systems, warehousing, commercial centers, and import-export support services to gradually form a dynamic economic space linked with the border trade corridor.

At the same time, the province is actively coordinating with central ministries and sectors to promote the expansion of import-export activities, facilitating smoother customs clearance for goods, especially local agricultural products, medicinal herbs, and special products. Lai Chau province encourages businesses to participate in production-processing-consumption linkage chains targeted at the Chinese market and other potential destinations.

Investment Promotion Rendezvous 2026

Currently, Lai Chau province is fully prepared to host the 2026 Lai Chau Province Investment Promotion Conference in Hanoi. Under the theme "Lai Chau - Awakening Potentials, Unleashing Opportunities," this important event will take place on June 30, 2026, at the International Convention Center, Ba Din, Hanoi.

This is a key activity aimed at promoting the image, potential, and business environment of Lai Chau province, while strengthening connections between the locality and ministries, sectors, international organizations, and both domestic and foreign business communities.

At the conference, Lai Chau will introduce the adjusted Provincial Planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, providing development orientations, incentive mechanisms, and a list of key priority projects calling for capital.

On the sidelines of the Conference, the province will organize a photo exhibition showcasing Lai Chau's tourism, introducing OCOP products, representative items, and local specialties such as Lai Chau ginseng, ancient tea, macadamia, and medicinal herbs. Furthermore, cultural and artistic programs rich in highland identity will be organized to serve delegates and attendees.

The event demonstrates the province's proactive and receptive spirit in listening to opinions from experts and investors to continue perfecting its mechanisms, moving toward building a facilitating and action-oriented government.

Mr. Ha Quang Trung, Chairman of the Lai Chau Provincial People's Committee, shared that the province always values the position and role of the business community and investors in socio-economic development. The message that Lai Chau province wants to send to the business community and investors is: "Stable environment, consistent policy, continuous companionship."

Emphasizing this, he stated that the province considers building a transparent, safe, stable, and sustainable investment environment as a continuous mission, always ensuring the legitimate rights and interests of businesses and creating the most favorable conditions for investors to confidently achieve long-term development in the locality.

The Chairman of Lai Chau Province affirmed that the local government commits to accompanying businesses throughout the entire life cycle of a project—from accessing information, completing investment procedures, and site clearance, to project implementation and operation. "We determine that the success of businesses is also the success and driving growth force of the province in the new era," he stated.