Removing difficulties, creating new development space for businesses

On July 19th, in Hanoi , the Business Forum Magazine organized the Business Development Forum: "Overcoming difficulties and creating new development spaces for businesses".

Tháo gỡ khó khăn, tạo không gian phát triển mới cho doanh nghiệp

Overview of the Business Development Forum: "Removing obstacles, creating new development opportunities for businesses". (Source: Business Forum Magazine)

In 2023, the Vietnamese economy and business community faced numerous difficulties and challenges due to the adverse impact of the global economy, leading to a slowdown in economic growth. To contribute to reflecting the state of the global and Vietnamese economies in the first six months of 2023, and to identify challenges and opportunities for economic growth in the remaining months of 2023 and 2024, under the direction of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the Business Forum Magazine organized the Business Development Forum: "Overcoming Difficulties, Creating New Development Spaces for Businesses".

Opening the event, Mr. Hoang Quang Phong, Vice Chairman of VCCI, stated that in recent times, complex geopolitical changes in the world and major markets of Vietnam have significantly impacted the economy as well as the business performance indicators of enterprises.

In the first six months of the year, GDP grew by only 3.72%. This is a low growth rate compared to the same period in the past 10 years, and only higher than the 1.74% growth rate in the same period of 2020 - the time most severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Mr. Hoang Quang Phong, the business and production situation in the coming period is expected to continue to face many difficulties: the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is still present; climate change, droughts, and floods are occurring unusually; strategic competition among major powers; the Russia-Ukraine conflict is unresolved; inflation is a problem in many countries; gasoline, fuel, and raw material prices remain high; the slow and difficult recovery of major trading partners... In addition, the shift in value chains, the demands of partners and markets towards sustainable production and consumption, the trend of green economy, digital economy, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution are strongly underway...

"This is creating a demand for Vietnamese businesses to innovate in order to keep up with new trends, otherwise they will lose competitiveness and miss opportunities to move further into the global value chain," Mr. Phong said.

Also at the forum, VCCI proposed several major solutions that need to be implemented, such as focusing on perfecting the legal framework for investment and business, continuing to implement solutions to reduce costs for businesses, and enhancing access to resources from state support packages.

Simultaneously, timely solutions are needed to support sectors that are recovering strongly, such as tourism and services, which are currently facing difficulties due to labor shortages. A legal framework should be developed and perfected to facilitate the emergence and development of innovation-based business models. Finally, the program to improve the business environment and enhance national competitiveness should be accelerated.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Long, Deputy Head of the Steering Committee for Enterprise Innovation and Development, stated that Vietnam is currently facing not only internal difficulties but also global challenges. Major economies around the world are showing signs of stagnation, or even recession.

Stemming from practical difficulties, the Party, State, and Government have focused on economic recovery, particularly by enacting numerous fiscal and credit policies. However, the issue is that while these policy mechanisms were appropriate for the time, they may not have been practical for certain industries and groups.

Furthermore, the internal workings of businesses benefiting from access and their absorption capacity are also important. In 2023, the Government held numerous meetings with private businesses, foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises, some state-owned enterprises, and representatives of small and medium-sized enterprise associations to understand the actual situation, record suggestions and proposals, and promptly adjust policies to help gradually resolve the difficulties and obstacles faced by businesses.

According to Mr. Long, the government's stance is to continue to provide maximum support to businesses, considering the removal of obstacles and difficulties for businesses as a top political priority; ensuring stability, consistency, clarity, transparency, improving a favorable investment environment, and providing focused support to businesses.

In the immediate future, with the goal of further promoting employment and other factors, businesses need urgent assistance in overcoming legal obstacles, unlocking resources, and streamlining investment procedures and public investment project implementation. In addition, several other measures have been introduced to support businesses at this time, such as continuing to improve the investment environment, simplifying investment and business procedures; supporting labor restructuring and improving the quality of human resources.

Source