The discussions at the Vietnam Private Sector Economic Forum being held in Hanoi with government agencies, over 2,500 businesses and hundreds of experts and executives taking part, are being livestreamed on VnExpress, the two-day event’s co-organiser, and its other media outlets. 

The forum seeks to dissect macroeconomic issues and make improvements to Vietnam’s policy framework. 

Six sessions are scheduled, each to discuss tourism, the digital economy, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), finance, agriculture, and starting a business.

In tourism, hot-button issues in recent years such as visa policies and aviation growth are discussed to frame appropriate policies to attract more visitors to the country and improve Vietnam’s tourism ratings by 2021. 

Vietnam’s recent accession to the CPTPP is a topic of interest to many businesses. Opportunities, challenges and solutions for Vietnamese businesses to take advantage of this trade agreement are discussed at its specialized session.

In agriculture, the forum seeks to develop and standardize Vietnam’s agricultural, forestry and fishery value chains.

Development of the digital economy has been one of the government's central goals in its drive to expand Industry 4.0. 

Institutional issues, which are considered the biggest barriers to enterprises and new technology models, are analyzed at the forum, especially in areas like electronic payments and open data.

A separate session is also being held to solicit suggestions related to capital and finance, a traditional bugbear for Vietnamese enterprises. The discussions center on solutions to loosen up medium- and long-term credit flows, and develop the bond market.

Business executives have a session to share their experiences in resolving obstacles to startups in the context of Vietnam’s excellent startup environment.

In addition to the six main sessions, the forum also has a session for women where the country’s women business leaders share their experiences with the aim of inspiring more women entrepreneurs. 

The conclusions drawn at the six sessions, which are running simultaneously this morning, will be summed up at the plenary session in the afternoon. It will be attended by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, head of the Central Economic Commission, Nguyen Van Binh, and other top leaders. 

On Friday morning there will be networking sessions to bring together businesses and investors, and an exhibition on Vietnam’s economic achievements. 

The Vietnam Private Economic Forum is co-chaired by the government and the Central Economic Committee. The Research Department for Private Economic Development and event organizer IEC Group are the other co-organizers along with VnExpress.