The Global Competition Fund (GCF) of Denmark has decided to provide 210 billion VND (roughly 10.92 million USD) for Vietnamese private businesses in the next three years to help them raise their competitive edge.

Amarnath Reddy, senior advisor from the GCF, said the fund would be channelled into some 80 projects to benefit export-oriented businesses in provinces in the central region, the Central Highlands and Mekong Delta.

The target businesses should operate in agricultural production and processing, aquaculture, fine art articles, fruit and vegetables, medicinal herbs, tea, wood processing and tourism.

The programme will kick off in January, 2011.

The GCF has been funded by the Danish Government since 2006, and has so far funded 96 projects in Vietnam . These projects are mostly in support of business development in four provinces, namely the former Ha Tay, now part of Hanoi, the central provinces of Nghe An and Khanh Hoa and the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong.

Its assistance has been worth 135 billion VND in total./.