According to Mr. To Hoai Nam, Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, policies from the Law on Small and Medium Enterprises Support have been effective, so they should continue to be implemented, but there must be innovations appropriate to the context.

Mr. To Hoai Nam

Following previous years, this year, how have the guidelines and regulations under the Small and Medium Enterprise Support Law been deployed, sir?

- 2020 is a very special year as the whole economy is affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, many Government support objectives must be focused on epidemic prevention, giving priority to enterprises affected by the pandemic. Therefore, the object of small and medium enterprises according to the support policies of the Law on Support of Small and Medium Enterprises is not the subject of priority and regularity as two years ago. This is the unexpected cause of natural disasters and epidemics.

But small and medium enterprises are still the most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. So, how have the supporting policies under the law been applied?

- The support policy under the Law on Small and Medium Enterprises Support and the policy to support enterprises that face difficulties and suffer losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic also have many similarities.

For example, in terms of capital, legal support, innovation, risk prevention.

However, the conditions and timeframe of application of policies to support businesses affected by the pandemic are narrower. Moreover, the support policies under the law are often indirect, through training, support for the transfer, reform of administrative procedures.

While the support policy forCovid-19 is direct, the State uses the resources to provide finance, reduce taxes and fees for affected people.

Most notably, the policies to support small and medium enterprises according to the Law on innovation, risk preventionare promoting positive effects on beneficiaries from the years 2018 and 2019. In the context of the pandemic, the business market, as well as the mode of operation, has many changes – businesses have to move towards applying more digitalization, doing business on more e-commerce..

Therefore, policies support digital transformation, innovation for small and medium enterprises under the law have helped these enterprises to prepare in advance, increase their ability to cope and quickly adapt to changes.

In addition, the Law on Support for Small and Medium Enterprises has provided guidance, supporting businesses in linking businesses in the supply chain. Therefore, when an epidemic causes a supply chain breakdown, businesses that have followed this link will also respond better.

On December 9, the People's Council of Hanoi passed a Resolution on the Project to support small and medium-sized enterprises for the 2021-2025 period and stipulates a number of policies, contents and levels of support to businesses in Hanoi.

The project includes: Group of tasks and general support policies for small and medium enterprises; group of tasks and supporting policies for business households to transform into enterprises, small and medium enterprises joining industry clusters, value chains; group of tasks and supporting policies according to the mechanism of Hanoi. It is expected that the funding for the project implementation is more than VND832 billion from the city budget and more than VND125 billion from the reciprocal funding of the participating organizations and individuals.

Ho Chi Minh City has just announced the launch of a 0% interest rate credit support package for businesses that are facing difficulties in industries such as accommodation services, tourism, transportation and businesses with large revenue declines due to Covid-19. The forms of support are interest reduction, fees, debt freezing, with a total cost of up to VND4,000 billion.

Previously, in July 2020, the Prime Minister issued a written request to ministries, ministerial-level agencies, localities and associations to promote the effective implementation of the Law on Small and Medium Enterprises Support to create conditions for these businesses to overcome difficulties, maintain and restore production and business activities.

After that, the Ministry of Planning and Investment also issued the draft of a decree to replace the Government's Decree No.39/2018/ND-CP detailing a number of articles of the Law on Small and Medium Enterprises Support.

Many small and medium enterprises said that the supporting policies are still difficult to access, according to you, what is the reason?

- As I mentioned above, this year, the Government focuses on epidemic prevention, so many supporting policies under the law have not been given priority and are not urgent to put all resources for implementation. Moreover, many local and grassroots programs and projects lack resources to operate, especially funding. Agencies lack connection and coordination, so resources are small but scattered, and it is difficult to create efficiency and good impactsfor enterprises.

Next year, what support policies under the Law on Small and Medium Enterprises Support should be implemented, sir?

- Before the impact of the pandemic, the market context has changed many times, new habits and business forms appear. Therefore, supporting policies not only have to continue to promote implementation but should be researched and redesigned in accordance with the context.

Moreover, how the support activities under the law will be implemented next year will depend a lot on the control of diseases in the country and around the world. If the pandemic continues, the support activities for enterprises affected by Covid-19 will still take precedence.

In addition, in order to help businesses receive more supportive policies, the authorities must promote propaganda to the implementing agencies and enterprises, helping these people understand the guidelines, implementations, arriving at the right "address".

The management agencies should have political statements and commitments for businesses to understand, from which they can easily access, proactively grasp activities and support methods. The implementation also needs to be very transparent and fair, helping businesses to meet in a fair and appropriate manner. Enterprises also have to actively research policies, look to support agencies for advice and support.

Thank you, Sir!