Dong Thap Department of Planning and Investment figures show that Dong Thap is home to 4,700 businesses, including 570 new setups and 155 businesses resuming operation in the first nine months of this year.

The local business community has made significant contributions to the province’s achievements

Regional GDP growth reached 9.37 per cent, setting a record for many years and placing Dong Thap sixth out of 13 localities in the Mekong Delta region.

At a business gathering marking Vietnam Entrepreneur Day on October 10, Dong Thap People’s Committee Chairman Pham Thien Nghia praised the significant contributions of the local business community to the province’s success, particularly in surmounting difficulties posed during the pandemic.

“Business development and startup promotion are among key strategic development breakthroughs in Dong Thap during 2021-2025. Setting up businesses as one of the motivating forces for development, the sectors and local units must be more conscientious about the business role to provincial development, striving to offer the best conditions to aid business to succeed,” Nghia said.

Dong Thap has also come up with practical business models and concrete actions, such as forming various support networks for businesses to provide quick and efficient support to businesses and enhancing the competitiveness of the province’s private economic sector.

The province has launched a startup scheme, striving to shape the local community and evolve into a ‘startup locality’.

This initiative has had huge spillover effects in the community, driving the creation of fresh speciality products, and making use of distinct local resources.

The national One Commune, One Product programme has had pervasive effects and seen novel development directions for nearly 40 craft villages across the province, prompting villagers to adopt diversified production models.

This, along with the strategy to stimulate a startup spirit in the young, has helped unleash resources for development, particularly in the local private sector.

According to Chairman Nghia, in August the province enacted the plan for digital transformation, which he said would help resolve geographical and transportation bottlenecks, help firms save on operation costs, create new business models, and diversify output markets. “Dong Thap urgently needs strong participation from the business community to boost business efficiency and spur growth, underpinning its robust and sustainable development,” Nghia added.

Leveraging the province’s pro-business mindset, many companies, economic organisations, and investment funds have come to the province to share novel ideas and plans for development.

The ventures focus on processing fruits and agricultural products and by-products; building wholesale markets and modern agricultural distribution centres; high-tech and organic agriculture; mechanical engineering centres; agricultural and community tourism; and building high-end residential complexes.

With the help of the local government, in the past five years, Dong Thap has seen more than 2,600 new businesses open, with total registered capital surpassing $558 million. In 2021 alone, 490 businesses came into being with capital value reaching $184.7 million.

State management agencies at all levels in Dong Thap have constantly been improving the local business environment in recent years, particularly regarding infrastructure conditions; urban, industrial zone and cluster planning; and economic sector restructuring and labour training. All the efforts gear towards creating the best conditions for business operation and development.

“We are so proud that our efforts have been recognised and appreciated by the business community, attested through Dong Thap’s high provincial competitiveness ranking in the past 14 years. This is a source of inspiration but also a challenge requiring us to make further endeavours to better serve businesses and society,” Nghia said.