Need legal 'support' for small and medium enterprises and startups

Small and medium-sized enterprises are in dire need of legal support. In the photo: Production line of Khuong Huy Production and Trade Company Limited (Kien An ward).

Hai Phong currently has 45 thousand operating enterprises, most of which are small and medium enterprises and start-ups. Legal support for small and medium enterprises and start-ups is being promoted with diverse forms, closely linked to the actual needs of enterprises.

Accompanying businesses

Legal support for small and medium-sized enterprises is stipulated in the Law on Support for Small and Medium Enterprises 2017 and Decree 55/2019/ND-CP, aiming to improve legal understanding to limit risks and disputes in business. In Hai Phong, the City People's Committee issued the Legal Support Program for Small and Medium Enterprises 2021 - 2025 and the annual plan, and proactively deployed and implemented Resolution 68-NQ/TW 2025 of the Politburo on private economic development.

Head of the Department of Legal Education and Dissemination, Dang Thi Ha, said: In recent times, legal support for small and medium-sized enterprises in the city has been implemented synchronously, diversified in form and content, and increasingly in-depth. The Department has increased propaganda and dissemination of the law on many channels, organized conferences and seminars, compiled practical legal documents, opened a column to receive feedback and recommendations on legal documents, and shortened the time to handle administrative procedures in the judicial field by 50%.

Strengthening legal support helps businesses move from being “passive” to proactively approaching the law, from “circumventing the law” to complying for sustainable development, and from “single law” to interdisciplinary law, contributing to building a transparent business environment, healthy competition and international integration.

However, besides the achieved results, legal support for small and medium enterprises still has many shortcomings and limitations such as most ministries and branches have not announced the network of legal consultants; support costs are still low, procedures are cumbersome; most small and medium enterprises do not have a legal department to advise on the implementation of relevant legal regulations; the team of people providing legal support for enterprises is still thin, weak, and uneven in legal awareness, skills, and implementation methods...

Ms. Nguyen Thi Quynh, Director of Tam Binh Production and Trade Service Joint Stock Company (Kien An Ward) shared: Many new regulations change rapidly, making it difficult for businesses to keep up and easily make mistakes when implementing. Therefore, receiving training, consulting, and direct answers to questions from the authorities will help businesses feel secure in producing and doing business in accordance with regulations and limit legal risks.

Increased depth of support

It is expected that by 2030, Hai Phong after the merger will have over 98 thousand operating enterprises, mainly small and medium enterprises. With this number, the need for support in general and the need for legal support in particular of small and medium enterprises will certainly increase. In the context of digital technology development and increasingly strong and deep international economic integration as today, the emergence of legal issues, legal cases and problems in the production, business and investment activities of enterprises is inevitable, and may even be more complicated, unpredictable and have higher risks. Therefore, enterprises are in great need of legal support.

Lawyer Nguyen Trung Kien, Lam Son Law Office (City Bar Association) expressed: The legal needs of small and medium enterprises in Hai Phong are very large because this is a group of young enterprises, often lacking and weak in legal knowledge, and the organizational structure is not yet complete. To ensure legal business operations and limit risks, if there is no legal or accounting apparatus, small and medium enterprises should spend a part of their budget to hire legal consultants annually or on a case-by-case basis to ensure legal business operations.

From the perspective of the City Young Entrepreneurs Association, Mr. Le Van Viet, Vice President of the Association shared: The need for legal support for small and medium enterprises, especially young enterprises, is very necessary. Currently, all instructions and legal documents are deployed by the association through the zalo group directly to members.

According to the representative of the Department of Justice, in the coming time, the Department will focus on improving the effectiveness of legal support for small and medium-sized enterprises through many key solutions. In particular, promoting propaganda, popularizing the law, applying digital technology for online consultation; organizing training courses, fostering in-depth legal knowledge; compiling practical guidance documents; at the same time, strengthening inter-sectoral coordination, promoting the role of the network of consultants, associations and social organizations participating in support, helping businesses develop sustainably, reducing legal risks.

Legal support for small and medium-sized enterprises is not only about guiding compliance with regulations, but also about building trust, strengthening competitiveness and modern corporate culture. With the orientation of developing into an industrial, logistics and innovation center of the Northern region, Hai Phong is gradually affirming its pioneering role in connecting the law with the sustainable development of enterprises, opening up opportunities for each small enterprise to firmly start a business, proactively integrate and break through in the international market.

WISDOM

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/can-be-do-phap-ly-cho-doanh-nghiep-nho-va-vua-doanh-nghiep-khoi-nghiep-526692.html