Continue to adjust appropriate policies so that people and businesses can feel secure in production.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai has just signed Document No. 724/TTg-DMDN dated August 4, 2023 in response to questions from National Assembly Delegate Dinh Ngoc Minh, stating: The Prime Minister will continue to adjust mechanisms and policies in accordance with reality so that people and businesses can have convenience and peace of mind in production, increase income, and stabilize their lives.

Ministries, branches and localities are actively implementing policies and solutions to support businesses to proactively adapt, recover quickly and develop sustainably.

National Assembly Delegate Dinh Ngoc Minh of the National Assembly Delegation of Ca Mau province questioned: "The Government quickly allocates a part of the budget that cannot be disbursed for assigned projects to support enterprises according to Decree No. 57/2018/ND-CP dated April 17, 2018 of the Government on mechanisms and policies to encourage enterprises to invest in agriculture and rural areas. These projects of enterprises have completed investment, this need is about 5,000 billion VND, so that when the economy recovers, enterprises can immediately produce. Most enterprises have made investments according to this Decree but have not been supported, especially enterprises in remote areas. This is also to increase the disbursement of public investment capital that is currently surplus to effective areas of the economy.

In the long term, the Government will submit to the National Assembly a Resolution on developing the business force in the new period to remove obstacles and support businesses in terms of land, administrative procedures, and mechanisms for applying policy regulations when documents overlap and contradict, with the aspiration to build a strong Vietnam.

Regarding the above issue, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai responded as follows:

- Regarding business support: According to Decree No. 57/2018/ND-CP dated April 17, 2018 of the Government on mechanisms and policies to encourage businesses to invest in agriculture and rural areas, the policy to encourage businesses to invest in agriculture and rural areas is a major policy of the Party, specified in Resolution No. 26/NQ-TW dated August 5, 2008 of the Central Executive Committee of the Party on agriculture, farmers and rural areas. To implement this policy, in 2010, the Government issued Decree No. 61/2010/ND-CP dated June 4, 2010, followed in 2013 by Decree No. 210/2013/ND-CP dated December 19, 2013 and in 2018 issued Decree No. 57/2018/ND-CP dated April 17, 2018.

In order to promote the implementation of Decree No. 57/2018/ND-CP, create a foundation to attract businesses to invest in the agricultural and rural sectors, and meet the requirements in the new situation, the Prime Minister has directed the Ministry of Planning and Investment to develop a Decree to replace Decree No. 57/2018/ND-CP. The Ministry of Planning and Investment is coordinating with relevant agencies to review and complete the newly issued Decree to ensure its feasibility in practice.

Regarding supporting businesses to proactively adapt, recover quickly and develop sustainably in both quantity and quality, truly becoming an important force to ensure the autonomy of the economy, on April 21, 2023, the Government issued Resolution No. 58/NQ-CP on a number of key policies and solutions to support businesses to proactively adapt, recover quickly and develop sustainably by 2025.

According to Clause 1, Section A, Part III of Resolution No. 58/NQ-CP, the group of tasks and solutions that need to be implemented in the short term, regarding the content of removing legal obstacles and barriers to free up resources for investment in production and business, the Government assigned ministries, branches and localities to: (i) Urgently review and remove obstacles for investment projects that have been licensed, have not been implemented or are being implemented to free up investment resources for production and business and economic development; promote the implementation and disbursement of public investment capital; (ii) Review and facilitate the quick handling of investment and construction procedures for real estate projects in the area that have met all the conditions for real estate and construction enterprises to promptly implement according to approved investment decisions to soon complete and bring products to market.

At the same time, at point a, clause 1, section B, part III, Resolution No. 58/NQ-CP, the group of tasks and solutions in the medium and long term, the Government assigned ministries, branches and localities to continue improving the investment and business environment, cutting and simplifying regulations related to business activities, including: (i) Focusing on resolving shortcomings due to regulations in legal documents that are not specific, overlapping, or contradictory in the fields of investment, land, construction, natural resources, and environment; integrating legal documents to ensure consistency, synchronization, transparency, ease of reference, understanding, and accessibility of the legal system; proactively or propose competent authorities to cut or simplify regulations that create new barriers that cause difficulties for investment, production, and business activities, except in necessary cases and must assess the impact on enterprises; (ii) Review administrative procedures related to enterprises in the direction of simplification or appropriate changes to effectively apply digital technology and deploy online public services.

Currently, ministries, branches and localities are actively implementing the tasks assigned in Resolution No. 58/NQ-CP.

In addition, regarding the removal and support of enterprises in the land sector, the Government has included this content in the draft Land Law (amended). Currently, the draft Law has been submitted to the National Assembly and discussed at the 4th and 5th sessions, and will be considered for approval at the 6th session of the 15th National Assembly.

- For enterprises investing in agriculture and rural areas, in recent times, to support enterprises to overcome difficulties, restore and promote production and business activities in the coming time, the Government and the Prime Minister have issued mechanisms and policies such as: Strategy for sustainable agricultural and rural development for the period 2021-2030, vision to 2050 (Decision No. 150/QD-TTg dated January 28, 2022) and Strategy for development of the fields: livestock, aquaculture, forestry...; Plan for restructuring the agricultural sector for the period 2021-2025 (Decision No. 255/QD-TTg dated February 25, 2021);....

The Prime Minister also directly worked with two major industry associations in the agricultural sector, the Wood and Forestry Products Association and the Seafood Processing and Export Association, to remove obstacles and promote the production and export of forestry and seafood products.

Based on the report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Prime Minister will continue to adjust mechanisms and policies to suit reality (including Decree No. 57/2018/ND-CP as mentioned above) so that people and businesses can have convenience and peace of mind in production, increase income and stabilize life.

Continue to reduce logistics cost ratio

National Assembly delegate Dinh Ngoc Minh also questioned: "The Government has solutions to reduce logistics costs for businesses, including reducing transportation costs, administrative procedure costs, and unofficial costs. Currently, our costs are too high (the main reason is due to high transportation costs accounting for about 60%) which is twice the average of the world, EU and US. The cost of transporting 1 container of goods from North to South is about 2000 USD, while transporting 1 container of goods from Vietnam to the US is only 1000 USD.

Experience of developed countries in building railways carrying both freight and passengers to make a profit (carrying goods is profitable, carrying passengers is at a loss). To reduce logistics costs for businesses, combine passenger transport and simultaneously build important infrastructure, it is recommended that the Government report to the National Assembly to soon deploy 02 railway sections (Lach Huyen - Yen Vien - Lao Cai and Vung Tau - Dong Nai) in the Railway Planning according to Decision No. 1769/QD-TTg dated October 19, 2021 of the Prime Minister; recommend that the National Assembly increase public investment to soon invest in these 2 railway lines".

Regarding the above issue, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai responded as follows:

- Regarding Vietnam's logistics costs: According to Agility's annual rankings in 2023, Vietnam is among the top 10 emerging logistics markets in the world and ranked 4th in Southeast Asia. However, Vietnam's average logistics costs are currently equivalent to 16.8 - 17% of GDP and are still quite high compared to the world average (currently about 10.6%). This cost has basically approached the target set by the Government in Decision No. 200/QD-TTg dated February 14, 2017 of the Prime Minister on approving the Action Plan to improve competitiveness and develop Vietnam's logistics services by 2025 with the target of reducing logistics costs equivalent to 16% - 20% of GDP.

In the coming time, the Government will continue to direct the Ministry of Transport to coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant ministries, branches, localities and enterprises to focus on developing modern and synchronous transport infrastructure, investing in developing logistics centers and dry ports to promote multimodal transport; continue to review and adjust policies related to prices and transportation fees (road usage fees, seaport infrastructure, seaport entry and exit fees, etc.), decentralize and delegate authority to localities in investment and infrastructure exploitation activities to continue reducing logistics costs.

- The cost of transporting a container from North to South is about 2,000 USD, while transporting a container from Vietnam to the US is only 1,000 USD: According to current investigation and survey data, the cost of transporting a 20ft container from North to South as the delegate gave (2,000 USD) is equivalent to the road transport method. However, depending on the goods transported, the needs of the shipper regarding time and transportation conditions, businesses can choose other modes of transport such as rail, sea with costs equivalent to only 50% - 70% of road (depending on loading and unloading conditions). For example: Currently, the sea freight rate from Hai Phong City - Ho Chi Minh City is fluctuating around 9.2 - 9.5 million VND/20ft container and around 12 million VND/40ft container. In the opposite direction from Ho Chi Minh City to Hai Phong City, the freight rate is about 6 - 8 million VND/20ft container and 9 - 10 million VND/40ft container.

For international shipping, the determination of freight rates depends on the season and transportation conditions. Currently, the freight rate for a 40ft container to the US is about 2,000 - 2,500 USD, while during the COVID-19 pandemic, this rate can be up to 20,000 USD. This shows that it is very difficult to accurately compare transportation costs between different routes and modes of transportation to convert to the same level.

- Regarding the investment in two railway lines connecting seaports (Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong and Bien Hoa - Vung Tau), according to the Railway Network Planning approved by the Prime Minister, these two railway lines are expected to be invested before 2030 to transport passengers and goods. Implementing Conclusion No. 49-KL/TW dated February 28, 2023 of the Politburo, the Prime Minister approved the plan to implement the railway network planning, in which the preparation work for investment in these two railway lines will continue to be deployed from now until 2025 to mobilize resources, striving to start construction before 2030, including:

+ Bien Hoa - Vung Tau railway line, is implementing the project's pre-feasibility study report, length of about 128 km, double track, 1435mm gauge, passenger and cargo transport, total investment of about 6.2 billion USD.

+ Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway line has basically completed detailed planning, length of about 380km, double track, 1435mm gauge, passenger and cargo transport, total investment of about 10 - 11 billion USD.

The Deputy Prime Minister agreed with the National Assembly Deputies' opinions on the need to soon implement the two railway projects. Due to the relatively large total investment of the two railway lines, the Prime Minister has issued a National List of projects calling for foreign investment in the 2021-2025 period to mobilize investment resources, including the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau and Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway lines. It is expected that both projects will complete their pre-feasibility study reports before 2025.

Currently, the two seaports of Lach Huyen and Cai Mep - Thi Vai have been invested in connecting by road (highway, national highway) and inland waterway. In particular, taking advantage of natural conditions, the market share of container transportation by inland waterway connecting with Cai Mep - Thi Vai port area, currently the volume of goods passing through the port reaches over 80%, meeting the transportation needs of the two seaports at reasonable costs.

In the long term, reducing the market share of road transport connecting to seaports is one of the important solutions contributing to reducing logistics costs, in which the two railway lines connecting seaports, Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong (connecting Lach Huyen port area) and Bien Hoa - Vung Tau (connecting Cai Mep - Thi Vai port area) need to be invested in soon and strive to start construction before 2030 according to the railway network planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050 (Decision No. 1769/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister) and Conclusion No. 49-KL/TW dated February 28, 2023 of the Politburo on the orientation of railway transport development to 2030, with a vision to 2045.

The Government and Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai hope that the National Assembly Delegation of Ca Mau province and National Assembly Delegate Dinh Ngoc Minh personally will continue to closely coordinate in the work of building and perfecting legal policies related to this field.

PV