Continuing the agenda in March 2025 of the Government working mission to the provinces in the Mekong Delta region, in the afternoon of March 20, 2025, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong, Member of the Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), together with several representatives of the central Ministries and agencies, held a working session with the People's Committee of Vinh Long province with a view to promote business operations, public investment, import-export activities, and the implementation of the national target programs in the province.
Governor Nguyen Thi Hong delivers a speech at the working session (Photo: Duc Khanh)
On the side of Vinh Long province, there was Mr. Tran Tien Dung, Secretary of Vinh Long Provincial Party Committee; as well as other leaders of the Provincial People's Committee and various Departments and agencies.
At the working session, Mr. Dang Van Chinh, First Vice Chairman of Vinh Long Provincial People's Committee, presented a general report on the situations of production, business, public investment, infrastructure construction, and import-export in the province in 2024 and the past years.
Accordingly, in 2024, Vinh Long's GRDP growth rate reached 5.65%, achieving 100% of the targets set by the Provincial People's Council at the beginning of the year. The import-export sector recorded the strongest growth in 2024, with an increase of 25.85%. Other sectors such as industry-construction, consumer services, agriculture-forestry-fisheries, and tourism also experienced high growth rates, ranging from 13.8% to 14.4%.
In 2025, according to the plan assigned by the Government and approved by Vinh Long Provincial People's Council, the province aims to achieve a GRDP growth rate of 8-8.5%. Specifically, the province will strive to strongly develop all economic sectors, including agriculture-forestry-fisheries, industry-construction, and trade-services.
According to the report of the Provincial People's Committee, it is estimated that by the end of the first Quarter of 2025, the province's GRDP had increased by nearly 8% as compared to the same period last year; of which, the agriculture-forestry-fisheries sector grew by 3.2%, the industry-construction sector grew by 17.41%, and the trade-services sector grew by 9%.
Vinh Long is recognized as one of the provinces with a strong growth in the public investment disbursement in 2024. By the end of the year, the province had disbursed over VND 3,417.7 billion in public investment, completing several key infrastructure projects at the provincial and Mekong Delta regional levels.
Regarding the import-export activities, Vinh Long has also been evaluated as a province with a strong export growth. By the end of 2024, the province's total export turnover grew by 25.85% (reaching over USD 1 billion), while the national export growth rate was approximately 14.3%.
Overview of the working session (Photo: Duc Khanh)
At the working session, representatives of the provincial Departments, agencies, and business associations raised many proposals and recommendations to address the difficulties in developing the key infrastructure projects; promoting the implementation of the national target programs on sustainable poverty reduction, new rural development, elimination of temporary and dilapidated houses for the poor; development of social housing; and acceleration of the transformation of the agricultural-rural economic models.
The main difficulties raised by the businesses and the industry associations at the working session were primarily related to the impacts of droughts, saltwater intrusion, and climate change. In addition, the fragmented scale of investment in various sectors has also hindered the businesses in Vinh Long from accessing the Government's preferential policies and incentives.
Vinh Long Provincial People's Committee also proposed several solutions to address some difficulties related to the policy on implementing commercial housing projects through agreements on land use rights or existing land use rights where the land is not designated for residential purposes; preferential policies and incentives for investment in the power transmission. In addition, the province also proposed several recommendations to resolve the funding issues for social housing construction projects in the area.
In her concluding remarks at the working session, Governor Nguyen Thi Hong highly recognized the efforts of Vinh Long province in implementing the solutions to promote the socio-economic growth in 2025. In particular, she commended the proactive and positive spirit of the Provincial People's Committee and the provincial Departments in setting their specific objectives, such as striving to disburse 100% of the public investment fund; having at least 12 new projects put into operation; and achieving 100% of communes meeting new rural standards.
Regarding the proposals and recommendations from Vinh Long province, the Governor stated that since 2024, the province has submitted 11 recommendations to the Government and the relevant Ministries and agencies in the fields of investment, construction; credit and interest rate policies; tax and fee policies; and land use planning. All of those recommendations have been acknowledged and addressed by the central government.
Specifically, in the banking sector, according to the SBV statistics, as of the end of February 2025, the total credit outstanding in Vinh Long was estimated at approximately VND 52,500 billion, of which credit for the agriculture-forestry-fisheries sector accounted for about 27%, and the trade sector accounted for about 64%.
The priority sectors have received significant credit disbursement from the banking system in Vinh Long: VND 28,000 billion has been disbursed as credit for the agriculture and rural development sector; over VND 6,500 billion has been disbursed to nearly 1,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
To better support the credit resources for the socio-economic development, helping Vinh Long province to achieve its macroeconomic goals and develop its key sectors, the Governor requested the SBV Regional Branch No. 14 and the credit institutions in the area to continue coordinating closely with the local authorities, connecting, acknowledging, and addressing any difficulties related to capital resources; monitoring the production and business situation of the economic entities and enterprises in different sectors to expand the credit growth, especially credit for production, business, and import-export activities.
HM