The annual Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) 2020 opened in Hanoi on Dec. 22 with the theme “Challenges and opportunities in the new normal”.

Hong Sun, Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) Co-chair speaks at a press conference.

The gathering is co-chaired by Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, Senior Country Manager of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Kyle F. Kelhofer, and the World Bank Vietnam’s Country Director Carolyn Turk.

It provides a platform to engage in a high-level policy dialogue with key decision-making Government officials and an opportunity to share with the business community the instructions from Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc after his meeting with VBF representatives at the Government Office on Dec. 10.

At a press conference on Dec. 21, Hong Sun, VBF Co-chair, said Vietnam has successfully completed the twin goals of containing the COVID-19 pandemic and maintaining economic growth.

With improved economic, financial, and tax policies, it is time for Vietnam to step up foreign investment attraction, he said, expressing a belief that the country will make breakthroughs in a new future.

Both domestic and foreign enterprises speak highly of measures adopted by the Vietnamese Government in order to support them, he said.

Such measures, however, should be adjusted in a timely fashion to match the latest circumstances as well as the demand of businesses, he suggested.

The VBF was established in 1997 during the annual Consultative Group meeting between the Vietnamese Government and its donor partners, as a not-for-profit, non-political channel for nurturing public-private dialogue to develop a favourable business environment that attracts domestic and foreign private sector investment and stimulates sustainable economic development.

This is done primarily through high profile bi-annual forums between the business community and Vietnamese leadership and through specialised Working Groups cutting across sectors.