Garments are made at Hào Tân Co in Cần Thơ's Nình Kiều District. Photo baocantho.com.vn

CẦN THƠ — The Mekong Delta City of Cần Thơ will set up specialised working groups to work closely with local enterprises in removing difficulties in a timely manner in order to help the firms ensure production. 

The municipal People’s Committee vice chairman Dương Tấn Hiển delivered this statement during a conference held late last week here to review the performance of local enterprises and draw up solutions to facilitate their business.

These groups will also review the city’s administrative procedures and then propose local authorities to cut off cumbersome and inappropriate ones, Hiển said. He requested relevant departments and sectors to assist businesses in accessing credit and technical transfer funds, as well as in training their personnel and expanding their distribution channels.

Many local businesses have encountered difficulties in accessing credit due to high interest rates offered by banks of between 19 per cent and 20 per cent, deputy chairman of Cần Thơ City Business Association Nguyễn Mỹ Thuận said at the event.

The banks’ other conditions for loans such as healthy finances, collateral and feasible projects have also caused the firms a headache, she said.

Thuận proposed that the city’s authorities create favourable conditions for businesses, especially those specialising in processing farm produce, to access bank loans and for investors in receiving preferential financial sources to implement their projects.

Statistics from the association showed that as of last year, the city was home to nearly 8,000 operational businesses with total registered capital of more than VNĐ43 trillion (US$1.84 billion). In 2029 alone, the city saw 1,500 new enterprises established, up 11 per cent year-on-year. — VNS