Nguyễn Phương Lam, director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Mekong Delta office. — VNA/VNS Photo

Up to 75.8 per cent of surveyed businesses in the Mekong Delta region forecast that their revenues will increase and 74.1 per cent predict rises in profits, according to Nguyễn Phương Lam, director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Mekong Delta office.

Speaking at a meeting with VCCI members on March 28, Lam pointed to several difficulties facing enterprises in 2024, including logistics and labour costs, capital, petrol and oil prices, and unofficial costs.

In face of these difficulties, Nguyễn Thái Bình from Trung An Hi-tech Farming JSC expressed his hope that the VCCI’s Mekong Delta Office will continue its support for trade and investment promotion activities, and provide updated information and consultations for businesses.

Lam said that efforts will be made to improve the business environment, increase dialogues between enterprises and local authorities, ministries and sectors, and organise business cooperation forums with key markets such as Japan, China and the Republic of Korea.

Last year, 11,381 new enterprises were established in the Mekong Delta region, but 10,514 others stopped operating or dissolve, posing a big challenge for the region. FDI inflows into the 13 localities in the region totalled US$741 million, only one quarter of the amount recorded by the northern province of Quảng Ninh.

At present, the unemployment and underemployment rate in the region is the highest in the country.

The Mekong Delta comprises Cần Thơ City and the provinces of An Giang, Đồng Tháp, Long An, Tiền Giang, Vĩnh Long, Bến Tre, Trà Vinh, Sóc Trăng, Hậu Giang, Bạc Liêu, Cà Mau and Kiên Giang. — VNS