Can Tho commits to accompany, listen, and gradually remove difficulties for businesses.

Cần Thơ cam kết đồng hành, lắng nghe, từng bước tháo gỡ khó khăn cho doanh nghiệp- Ảnh 1. — Can Tho City organizes a meeting between City leaders and the business community - Photo: VGP/LS

Can Tho's economy has many bright spots despite facing many challenges.

Speaking at the opening meeting on the afternoon of December 3, Mr. Vuong Thanh Nam, Deputy Director of the Can Tho Department of Finance, emphasized that this is not only an annual conversation but also an important forum to help the government correctly identify the problems that businesses are facing. According to Mr. Nam, in the context of slow global economic recovery, fluctuating supply chains and rapidly changing market sentiment, Can Tho still maintains an encouraging growth momentum thanks to the solidarity of the political system and the persistent efforts of the business community.

The City's economy in 2025 recorded many positive signals. In 11 months, the industrial production index increased by 10% over the same period in 2024; export value and foreign currency revenue reached 5,026.6 million USD, up 10.6%; import value reached 1,189.6 million USD, up 10.2%. Total retail sales of goods and service revenue reached 321,887.06 billion VND, up 16.5%. Tourism continued to maintain a strong recovery momentum with 10,568,000 visitors, up 20%, of which 4,697,575 stayed, up 27%. These figures reflect the resilience of the local economy and the confidence of tourists and investors in the stability of the city.

Regarding the investment environment, the City recorded 4,319 new enterprises entering the market with a total registered capital of VND27,603 billion, an increase of 53.97% in quantity and 9.97% in capital. This growth rate demonstrates market confidence in Can Tho.

However, 411 enterprises dissolved and 1,516 enterprises temporarily suspended operations during the same period are also noteworthy signals. The city attracted 22 new investment projects, including 1 FDI project worth 100 million USD and 21 domestic projects with a total capital of 20,216 billion VND, demonstrating investors' interest in potential sectors.

Enterprises appreciated the City’s efforts to improve the business environment, but also pointed out many barriers such as complicated administrative procedures, difficulty in accessing land, limited credit, increasing compliance costs, while requirements on fire prevention, environment and production standards are increasingly strict. Many enterprises said that the regulations are not synchronized between sectors, affecting the progress of project implementation.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kieu Duyen, Director of the Can Tho Investment, Trade and Exhibition Promotion Center, said that the Center has compiled 32 recommendations from businesses. Of these, 21 recommendations have been resolved, and 11 are still being processed. The recommendations focus mainly on investment procedures, land, environment and preferential policies. The gradual processing of recommendations shows that the City is shifting from a "management" mindset to a "service" mindset, placing businesses at the center of growth.

Vice Chairman of Can Tho City People's Committee Vuong Quoc Nam expressed his appreciation for the contributions of enterprises in generating budget revenue, creating jobs and ensuring social security. Mr. Nam emphasized: "The government and enterprises are on the same boat" and therefore both need to share, understand and accompany each other to overcome difficulties and challenges. The feedback from enterprises is not only information but also the basis for the government to review and adjust development policies to be more suitable to reality.

Cần Thơ cam kết đồng hành, lắng nghe, từng bước tháo gỡ khó khăn cho doanh nghiệp- Ảnh 2. — Ms. Ma Thi Thanh, representative of the Soc Trang Province Business Association (old) spoke at the meeting - Photo: VGP/LS

Many urgent solutions for businesses

To support businesses more effectively, Mr. Vuong Quoc Nam suggested that departments and branches promote administrative reforms, especially in the fields of land, investment, construction and business registration. The digitization of procedures, connection of records and shortening of processing time will be vigorously implemented. The city will publicize the progress of processing records to ensure transparency and help businesses easily monitor.

In addition to administrative reform, the City aims to strongly improve the investment environment by raising the PCI index, enhancing public-private dialogue and quickly addressing weak links. Inter-regional transport infrastructure, logistics, industrial park and cluster infrastructure and digital transformation will continue to be prioritized to create favorable conditions for businesses to expand production and attract more investors.

The city also implemented a multi-channel mechanism to receive business recommendations and required departments and branches to process them on time. Support programs for small and medium enterprises, technology innovation enterprises, creative startups and green-digital transformation enterprises will continue to expand, aiming to build a sustainable business ecosystem.

Orientation of private economic development and expectations for the coming period

In the period of 2025 - 2030, Can Tho aims to strongly promote the development of the private economic sector. The city will promote changes in social awareness, identifying the private economy as one of the important driving forces of the socialist-oriented market economy. Policies on institutional reform, eliminating the "ask - give" mechanism, developing value chains, supporting the transformation of production models and improving competitiveness will be promoted.

At the same time, the City will build a financial mechanism to support small and medium-sized enterprises through preferential credit, credit guarantees and tax support. Disbursement of public investment capital will be accelerated, creating momentum for key infrastructure projects. The City will continue to promote FDI attraction, complete the list of investment calls and remove obstacles for smooth project implementation.

In the field of trade and services, Can Tho's goal is to promote demand, develop the distribution system of Vietnamese goods, promote digital transformation, expand international market promotion and strive to increase export turnover by 10% or more. The city also pays special attention to developing high-tech industry and agriculture, enhancing the value of the supply chain and expanding raw material areas.

Economic experts say that in the context of the global economic risks, the proactiveness of the government and the spirit of overcoming difficulties of businesses will help Can Tho maintain its position as the economic center of the Mekong Delta. Promoting innovation, applying digital technology and improving the quality of human resources will play a key role in the development of the city. The business community expects the commitments of the city's leaders to soon be materialized in practical solutions, creating motivation to expand production and contribute to the development of Can Tho.

Can Tho's economy has many bright spots despite facing many challenges.

Many urgent solutions for businesses

Comment (0)