The green-skinned mango processing line at Doveco Son La fruit and vegetable processing center.

As of July 2025, Son La province had a total of 4,069 enterprises with a combined registered capital of VND 90 trillion. In July 2025 alone, 307 business registration applications were received and processed. To support business growth and improve the investment climate, the province continues to implement plans and programs for assisting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in line with directives from the Government and the Provincial People’s Committee. The Department of Finance is taking the lead in advising on the development of plans and budget estimates to support SMEs, private enterprises, and household businesses for the 2026–2028 period; advising the Provincial People’s Committee on issuing a plan for private sector development through 2030, with a vision to 2045; and issuing the 2025 Plan for Improving and Enhancing the Provincial Competitiveness Index (DDCI).

In a spirit of partnership and shared growth with entrepreneurs and businesses, the Provincial People’s Committee has also directed provincial departments and agencies to further improve the business and investment environment, accelerate administrative reforms—particularly in modernizing public administration—move toward e-government, shorten application processing times, and create a transparent, business-friendly investment climate. Efforts will also focus on enhancing the quality and accountability of public officials and civil servants, thereby fostering the most favorable conditions for enterprises to invest, expand production, and conduct business in the province.

In the first half of 2025, thanks to the concerted efforts of Party committees and local authorities, Son La province’s GRDP reached VND 16.541 trillion (at 2010 constant prices), marking an 8.76% increase. State budget revenue stood at approximately VND 2.432 trillion, equivalent to 58.7% of the central target, 54% of the provincial People’s Council target, and up 173.34% year-on-year. The private sector made a significant contribution to GRDP, budget revenues, and job creation for more than 100,000 workers. However, according to the provincial Business Association, most enterprises remain small in scale, with limited capital, and operate mainly in construction, services, and tourism. They face challenges in accessing finance, land, technology, and markets. The Association has proposed that the province concretize SME support policies, enhance access to resources, strengthen training, promote market expansion, and accelerate digital transformation. It has also recommended reducing administrative procedures’ time and costs by 30%, abolishing 30% of unnecessary business conditions, and shifting from pre-check to post-check mechanisms. Additionally, the Association suggested maintaining regular dialogues with businesses to ensure timely and adequate responses, and requested the State Bank to lower the counterpart funding requirement to 15% and increase the loan ratio to 85%.

In the coming time, the province will continue improving infrastructure, institutions, and the investment climate, while accompanying businesses in their development. Efforts will include providing guidance and support for online business registration and processing applications; inspecting enterprises to strengthen state management of charter capital contributions after the issuance of business registration certificates; facilitating market expansion and sales connectivity; assisting in recruitment and access to preferential loans from credit institutions; streamlining administrative procedures; supporting business model transformation; promoting women entrepreneurship; and introducing policies to assist provincial business associations in organizing training programs to enhance corporate governance capacity.

Le Hong

Translated by Huyen Vu