Mekong Delta seeks to draw investment   Workers assemble trucks at Can Tho Automobile Factory in the southern city of Can Tho. Tra Vinh Province and Can Tho City in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region would aim to improve their level of competitiveness from ‘good' to ‘very good'. - VNA/VNS Photo Duy Khuong CAN THO (VNS) - Provinces in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region would improve their competitiveness this year and the next to create a more attractive investment environment. According to the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry's branch in Can Tho City (VCCI Can Tho), Kien Giang, Dong Thap and Ben Tre provinces would strive to maintain a high level of competitiveness, while Tra Vinh Province and Can Tho City would aim to improve their level of competitiveness from ‘good' to ‘very good'. VCCI Can Tho said Bac Lieu, Vinh Long, Long An, Hau Giang, An Giang, Soc Trang and Tien Giang provinces would raise their level of competitiveness from ‘mediocre' to ‘good', reported the Vietnam News Agency. Vo Hung Dung, director of VCCI Can Tho, said that to achieve these targets by 2015, the provinces and cities would focus on training human resources. These provinces and cities have so far attracted foreign investment of US$9.5 billion in 178 projects, he said. They would promote administrative procedures to reduce the time taken to grant investment licences and to improve the management ability of the leaders. The region would also increase capital to VND87 trillion ($4.1 billion) for building transport systems on land, water and air to create favourable conditions for investors in production and business, he said. The authorities of provinces and cities would implement programmes to support enterprises in improving their financial ability and management skills, getting market information and transparency in quality, treating waste products, ensuring food hygiene, building systems of trade promotion, advertising, marketing and distribution, and developing trademarks. Nguyen Phong Quang, deputy head of the South West Steering Committee, said the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region had been applying investment incentives to attract foreign investment. The incentives included 50 per cent reduction of the land use fee, and exemption from paying rent for land and water during the first 11 years after the projects become operational, and from land rent for workers' houses, trees and public construction. The provinces and cities would also get financial support for vocational training, advertising on public media, accessing market information and consultation on investment and legal systems. The provinces and cities exempted foreign investors from paying corporate income tax during the first two profit-making years and also halved the tax for the following three years. Foreign investors could cite the value of land-use rights and assets on the land during the rent period as security for taking loans from Viet Nam's credit organisations, branches of foreign banks operating in Viet Nam and joint-venture banks between Viet Nam and foreign countries. Therefore, the region had attracted VND 416 trillion ($19.6 billion) from 1,600 domestic projects and $11.8 billion from 836 foreign projects this year, Quang said. - VNS