The Can Tho investment promotion conference, with the theme “Sharing potential for mutual development”, is slated to be held in Can Tho on August 10, organised by the municipal People’s Committee.

The event, to be presided over by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, will feature the presence of about 500 delegates, who are leaders of various ministries, sectors, and major cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Haiphong, and Danang, as well as localities in the Mekong Delta region.

Various domestic and foreign business groups will also partake in the event, as will investment promotion agencies such as the Japan External Trade Organization, the American Chamber of Commerce, and the European Chamber of Commerce, as well as international organisations such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

According to Can Tho People’s Committee Chairman Vo Thanh Thong, the conference aims to introduce the city’s strengths, investment opportunities, and specific investment support policies to maximally attract investment resources as well as effectively exploit its advantages and potential.

It will also serve as a platform for investors and international organisations to directly meet local government officials and relevant management agencies.

“Investment promotion events must carry true values, while projects calling for investment must feature good feasibility and be made on a selective basis, not only to bring practical effects to the city’s social and economic development, but also to cast positive impacts on the whole region’s development,” said Thong.

At the conference, the city will introduce its major development targets, a list of projects seeking investment, and will seek advice and experience for its development towards becoming a services hub and a high-tech agriculture and science and technology development centre.

During the event, the city leaders will confer honourary mementoes on several eminent businesses, issue investment decisions and certificates for several investment projects, and sign memoranda of understanding between the Can Tho People’s Committee and several investors and businesses.

Prestigious local specialty products will be on display, and commencement and launching ceremonies of several major projects will take place.

Can Tho is an economic, education and training, science and technology, and healthcare centre in the Mekong Delta region.

In recent years, aside from increasingly improving its infrastructure for socio-economic development, the city has focused on bettering its investment environment to enhance competitiveness in a bid to turn the city into a lucrative investment destination for investors.

The city was named among the top performers in the provincial competitiveness index ranking in the past six years. In 2016, Can Tho ranked fifth among the top 10 most appealing investment destinations as voted by businesses.

As of December 31, 2017, the city had 76 valid foreign invested projects registered at $687.7 million. It also posted its highest-ever retail revenue of over VND106 trillion ($4.7 billion), up 10 per cent from 2016.