Efforts in 2024 - a breakthrough year

Right from the start of 2024, closely following the directions of the Government and the Prime Minister, Can Tho City translated them into tasks, launched action plans and provided guidance for clearly defined work contents, assigned leading agencies and coordinating agencies to execute tasks and work contents, announced the implementation schedule, and conducted regular reviews to find appropriate solutions for a given time. Hence, the city’s socioeconomic activities gradually recovered. Its GRDP growth reached 4.6% in the first quarter, 5.24% in the first half and 6.25% in the first nine months of 2024.

Can Tho City - The vibrant urban hub of the Mekong Delta 

The city is also determined to promote industrial restructuring and modernization, aligned with fostering innovation, scientific and technological application; effectively unlock potential advantages; improve the quality of human resources, especially high-quality personnel; remove bottlenecks, mobilize investment resources, develop infrastructure, especially transport infrastructure; and ensure harmonious alignment of economic development with culture and society, and active climate response.

In the January-October period, the city’s export value of goods and services rose 6.5% year on year to US$1.92 billion in the first 10 months of 2024 and total tourism revenue climbed 9% year on year to VND5,173 billion. The city also continued to enhance cultural and social aspects, administrative reform, justice, anti-corruption and thrift practice. Political security, social order and safety in the city were kept stable.

In addition, key national projects basically met planned progress requirements like Eastern North-South Expressway in 2021 - 2025, Can Tho - Hau Giang Express, and Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang Expressway (Can Tho session). At the same time, the city adopted many drastic solutions to speed up investment procedures and site clearance for key government-funded projects.

Actions for an open business environment

The city’s Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) ranked Top 20 in 2023, marking its 14th consecutive year at this class. In the last six years (2018 - 2023), its overall PCI score was always above 64 points, above the national median, although it sometimes declined and advanced, but just slightly. PCI component indices also swayed between gains and losses on an annualized basis. Although the city saw a certain progress in reforms and service quality for people and businesses, the outcome didn’t reach expectations. This rough matter requires time and concerted effort from many levels and many sectors. Positive changes in public and business service also need time to affect people and businesses. These important points need to be considered in the following years.

Can Tho City’s leaders at Can Tho Investment and Trade Promotion Conference, August 2024 

Some solutions that need to be implemented include maintaining dialogues between businesses and investors with the city Government. In 2022, Can Tho City launched the District and Department Competitiveness Index (DDCI) to strengthen dynamism and competition and improve the management capacity of governmental bodies, thus helping raise the quality of public and business service. Comprehensive and consistent reform policies continued to be carried out at each level and sector, from the city level to the grassroots level. Each agency/unit must conduct reforms, not only the PCI Index but also other indices like PAPI, PAR-INDEX, SIPAS and DTI in a bid to build a friendly, effective and efficient administration. As for the PCI Index, the executed solutions will be continued, and new solutions will be researched and supplemented to make the city's reforms more accessible to more people and businesses.

Ongoing effort for business development

After 10 years of implementing Resolution 09-NQ/TW, the number and scale of businesses in all economic sectors have increased. The business community has demonstrated its role and made certain contributions to socioeconomic development. However, the development level is still not commensurate with the role of enterprises that are operating at the center of the region.

In the current context, domestic and international conditions are changing rapidly. The Fourth Industrial Revolution has produced a strong and direct impact on all economic stages. This is both an opportunity and a challenge for the business community. Thus, businesspeople need to reorient their vision and build a development strategy in line with megatrends.

Accordingly, business development needs to be associated with green, sustainable development goals, carbon emission reduction and gradual elimination of carbon emissions in business. In particular, agriculture is the strength of the Mekong Delta, including Can Tho City. In addition to following general trends, agricultural business people need to focus on developing large-scale high-tech agriculture applied with traceability technologies and apply GlobalGAP standards to increase agricultural value and competitiveness in the market.

Based on its achievements, immediately after the Politburo issued Resolution 41-NQ/TW dated October 10, 2023 on building and promoting the role of the Vietnamese entrepreneurs in the new era, the Can Tho People's Committee asked the Standing Board of the Can Tho Party Committee to issue Program 72-Ctr/TU dated March 12, 2024 on implementation of Resolution 41-NQ/TW. After that, the People's Committee announced Plan 216/KH-UBND dated September 27, 2024 on implementation of Program 72-Ctr/TU dated March 12, 2024 with the aim of developing a strong and large well-structured force of entrepreneurs who have vision, intelligence, ethics, entrepreneurial spirit, legitimate wealth and innovative mind, adopt advanced corporate governance, respect law compliance, business ethics and business culture with national identity, and uphold social responsibility and environmental perception to contribute to the country's development goals.

Can Tho is ready to make a breakthrough to become a typically dynamic ecological nuclear city of the region and the contribution of businesses and investors is very much needed on this journey.