Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh hosted a reception for a delegation of the Vietnam-ASEAN Association for Economic Cooperation Development in Hanoi on October 5.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh hosts a reception for
a delegation of the Vietnam-ASEAN Association for Economic Cooperation Development
in Hanoi on October 5.

Also present at the meeting were representatives from 85 domestic enterprises and investors from ASEAN member states, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and India who were seeking the government’s continued reduction of corporate income and value added taxes, and land rents in 2020 and 2021.

They wanted the Vietnamese Government to support them in seizing opportunities from the global manufacturing shift and coming up with proper personnel plans and business strategies.

They also expected the Government to tighten intellectual property management and accelerate disbursement of business support packages as new-generation free trade agreements, notably the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), have entered into force in Vietnam.

Speaking at the event, Minh highlighted efforts by the Government in fighting the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic and helping enterprises weather the crisis.

He outlined the non-agricultural land use tax reduction and exemption and corporate income tax waiver in 2020 and the deferral of taxes and land use fees as examples of supports provided by the Government to aid those affected by COVID-19.

The Government has also worked hard to accelerate public administrative reforms and create a better business climate, reflected by the cut of over 3,800 business conditions and more than 6,700 goods required specialised inspections, he said.

He expected the association and its business members to pay more attention to ASEAN markets.

According to him, total trade between Vietnam and ASEAN reached US$57 billion last year, 10 times the figure 25 years ago and 11% of the country’s total foreign trade. By the end of July 2020, FDI flows from investors from ASEAN countries into Vietnam neared nearly US$82 billion, representing 21.6% of the total FDI injection.

He also asked enterprises to proactively make the most of opportunities and overcome challenges from the FTAs.