Contributing nearly 74% of GRDP
According to the People's Committee of Can Tho City, the merger of Can Tho, Soc Trang and Hau Giang has created a strategic breakthrough, opening up a large development space with the advantage of the regional center, abundant resources and modern infrastructure. The city currently owns a comprehensive logistics ecosystem including vertical expressway, horizontal axis, Tran De deep-water seaport, Cai Cui port cluster, inland waterway port system and international airport.
There are currently about 20,300 private enterprises in the area, contributing nearly 74% of GRDP and about 35% of total state budget revenue. This is an important force promoting innovation, improving productivity, increasing national competitiveness, while contributing to hunger eradication, poverty reduction, and social stability.
A typical example is in Thanh Xuan commune, where Tan Phu Thanh Industrial Park is located, over 200 hectares wide with an occupancy rate of 87%. This area currently has 183 enterprises, more than 1,700 business households, 8 cooperatives and 13 cooperative groups in operation, creating jobs for more than 17,000 workers, contributing to improving people's lives. In the period of 2020 - 2025, the private economic sector contributed to the commune's domestic revenue by 5.22% compared to the target.
Barriers that need to be removed
According to the People's Committee of Can Tho City, despite playing an increasingly important role in socio-economic development, the private economic sector here still faces many challenges. Most businesses are small and micro-sized, limited in capital, technology, and high-quality human resources. The link between the private sector and state-owned enterprises, cooperatives and FDI is still disjointed, and a sustainable ecosystem has not been formed. Logistics infrastructure, digital infrastructure, and production facilities have not met demand, while local commodity brands are still weak in terms of competitiveness.
The city aims to have more than 45,000 enterprises by 2030, with an average growth rate of over 10%/year, contributing 78 - 80% of GRDP, creating jobs for more than 90% of workers; by 2045, the orientation is to reach about 75,000 enterprises, forming a team of regional and international entrepreneurs.
To achieve this goal, the City People's Committee has identified many groups of solutions including perfecting institutions, reforming administrative procedures, maintaining periodic dialogues between the government and businesses; encouraging business households to convert to businesses; supporting value chain connection, promoting digital transformation; allocating resources reasonably, including preferential credit and specific financial mechanisms.
Human resource training will be linked to business needs, promoting the linkage between schools - institutes - businesses. The city also focuses on communication to raise social awareness of the driving role of the private economy, commend typical successes, and promote the role of business associations in criticism, supervision and protection of legitimate rights.
In the long-term orientation, Can Tho continues to improve investment attraction mechanisms and policies; create a favorable business environment; support private enterprises to expand markets, compete equally; develop infrastructure, increase access to resources; at the same time, encourage innovation, modernize technology, improve productivity and quality of goods.
From an expert's perspective, Dr. Tran Khac Tam - Chairman of the Soc Trang Provincial Business Association proposed - it is necessary to simplify procedures, make laws transparent, expand preferential credit, ensure equal competition and develop investment promotion centers. He emphasized that businesses themselves also need to proactively innovate governance, build long-term strategies, and strengthen value chain linkages to improve competitiveness.
