Up to 80% of businesses have not received government assistance to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Vu Tien Loc, President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) at a forum in Hanoi on December 8.

Businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones, have struggled to surmount
difficulties in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic due to shrinking export markets
and poor purchasing power.

According to the VCCI President, the COVID-19 pandemic had dealt a heavy blow to business operations. By November 2020, approximately 44,000 businesses had suspended operation, an increase of 60% over the same period in 2019.

On average, more than 5,000 businesses had stopped working each month, a record high number that entails many consequences, Loc stressed.

The government had introduced several relief packages to help businesses weather the COVID-19 storm and ensure social security, including the VND180 trillion credit support package, the VND62 trillion social welfare package, the VND16 trillion severance package and the VND180 billion tax support package.

“This is the first time the government has endorsed a comprehensive system of solution packages to assist businesses and people in need in society. The Government also promptly eased social distancing measures, reopened the domestic market, and helped businesses maintain production in difficult circumstances,” said Loc.

He thanked the government for launching the relief packages, but pointed out problems regarding the implementation.

Taking the VND16 trillion severance package as a case in point, Loc said the policy was endorsed in April 2020, but none of the businesses had accessed the package due to cumbersome procedures.

Following revisions, only 75 businesses had benefitted from the package by late November to pay 3,800 employees, Loc said, citing the results of a survey conducted by the VCCI and Hanoi University of Economics.  

Close to 80% of the surveyed businesses have yet to access relief packages, and a large number of businesses have yet to know about the government’s support policies, said the VCCI President.

He recommended narrowing the gap from policy introduction to implementation in the context of epidemics and natural disasters to ensure every stakeholder can benefit from policies.

The government should put forward a support model suitable for each industry, each business and each stage, with priority to be given to small and medium-sized businesses due to their poor resilience, Loc proposed.

He said the VCCI will work alongside the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to develop a programme aimed at increasing business resilience in the context of epidemics and natural disasters.