P Publication

Economic zones (industrial parks, special economic zones, eco-industrial parks,technology parks, and innovation districts) have been promoted as cornerstone strategies for economic development in countries around the world. Competitive strategies depend on the country's stage of economic development. Industrial Parks and Special Economic Zones will foster a catch-up strategy in less developed countries, while innovation districts will accelerate innovation in already developed economies. The countries in the ASEAN have widely adopted economic zones. It is estimated in this paper that there are more than 1,000 economic zones in the ASEAN (893 industrial parks, 84 special economic zones, 2 eco-industrial parks, 25 technology parks, and 1 innovation district). The study paper will first focus on understanding the different type of economic zones that have been used as competitive strategies before providing the country profile for each ASEAN member as well as a detailed profile for Viet Nam.