Prime Minister: Improving the investment environment is a decisive factor.

On April 28th, in his concluding remarks at the 2014 Conference between the Prime Minister and businesses, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung commended and highly appreciated the efforts, achievements, and extremely important contributions of the business community to the socio-economic development of the country in recent years.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung delivers the concluding remarks at the conference. Photo: VNA

The Prime Minister also pointed out the difficulties, shortcomings, and limitations of businesses, most notably the small number of businesses compared to the population size; the small size of businesses, with 97-98% being small and medium-sized enterprises; and the limited capital and low employment rate.

While the competitiveness of businesses has improved, it still falls short of requirements, and the competitive environment is becoming increasingly fierce; management capacity remains limited; and although the business environment has improved, many limitations and obstacles still need to be addressed...

According to the Prime Minister, to improve the investment environment, it is first necessary to ensure political and social stability; maintain macroeconomic stability, and strengthen macroeconomic stability in a more robust direction so that the business community can feel more secure and have more favorable conditions for developing production and business; effectively implement solutions to ensure economic growth, because economic growth is what creates conditions for businesses to develop...

"The government has always paid special attention to perfecting market institutions, building mechanisms and policies; reforming administration, especially administrative procedures, and requiring functional agencies to review inspection and examination procedures to minimize inconvenience for businesses... thereby creating the most favorable conditions for businesses to develop production and business," Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung emphasized.

Regarding administrative procedure reform, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung stated: "The government is actively directing efforts to improve the service ethics of civil servants towards businesses and the people."

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung instructed the banking sector to continue creating favorable conditions for businesses to access credit. The Prime Minister requested the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam to provide specific guidance, ensuring maximum support for businesses in areas that are advantageous, while also guaranteeing credit availability and fostering the development of the capital market, creating a strong link between banks and businesses.

While affirming that the Government will continue to issue mechanisms and policies to support businesses, the Prime Minister also urged businesses to make every effort to improve, paying particular attention to restructuring in the context of integration and competition to operate more efficiently, achieve higher labor productivity, lower costs, and greater competitiveness.

During restructuring, businesses need to pay close attention to the strong application of science and technology in production and business, improving corporate governance capabilities, thereby increasing labor productivity, quality, and competitiveness.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung urged businesses and associations to cooperate effectively with relevant agencies in combating smuggling, counterfeit goods, and substandard products, as these actions, according to the Prime Minister, are "terrible sabotage of production."

At the same time, we hope that businesses will actively contribute to the search for and expansion of domestic and international markets; pay attention to building corporate culture, especially the culture of treating employees, and seriously implement the policies and regulations of the State...

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung affirmed: “The Government will do its utmost to create all favorable conditions for businesses so that the business community, as the main productive force of the economy, can improve productivity, quality, efficiency, and competitiveness. This will both help businesses succeed and increase the contribution of the business community to the overall growth and socio-economic development of the country. We hope that the business community will strive to build upon its achievements and overcome difficulties and challenges to achieve success.”

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung also stated that after the conference, the Government Office will forward all recommendations from the business community to each ministry and agency, and at the same time request ministers, within their authority and assigned tasks, to consider, handle, and respond to all business recommendations in the spirit of utmost support, creating all favorable conditions for businesses to promote production and business development, and operate efficiently and sustainably.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung instructed the Minister of Planning and Investment to base his actions on the opinions and recommendations from the conference and the draft Directive of the Prime Minister, assigning tasks to ministries, sectors, and localities to carry out necessary tasks according to their responsibilities, creating all favorable conditions for the business community to continue developing.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, in the period 2011-2013, the whole country saw the establishment of 224,200 new businesses, accounting for nearly 41% of the total number of businesses established in the 20 years (from 1991-2010).

In 2013, the economy showed signs of recovery and some macroeconomic difficulties eased, leading to a resurgence in the number of newly established businesses (up 10% compared to 2012).

In the first quarter of 2014 alone, the whole country saw more than 18,000 newly registered businesses with a total registered capital of nearly 98,000 billion VND, an increase of approximately 17% in the number of businesses and 23% in registered capital compared to the same period in 2013.

According to Vietnam+