Efforts to improve Vietnam’s business climate have continued despite COVID-19 but progress appears to have slowed down compared to previous years and differs between fields, according to the latest report from the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

VCCI Chairman Vu Tien Loc (Photo: VNA)

Efforts to improve Vietnam’s business climate have continued despite COVID-19 but progress appears to have slowed down compared to previous years and differs between fields, according to the latest report from the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

VCCI Chairman Vu Tien Loc said the business climate features many restrictions that need to be addressed in the next five years.

Although legal regulations, administrative procedures, and business investment conditions have become more transparent, the public disclosure of State plans and reports for enterprises have been noted by many as remaining too general and not overly useful.

Conditions to join a number of sectors have been cut to facilitate small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to enter the market, but policy fluctuations for sectors requiring large investments and with long capital return periods have hindered companies from putting down their money.

While many administrative procedures can now be done online, they still exhibit shortcomings and are not user-friendly, Loc said.

Tran Thi Hong Minh, Director of the Aus4Reform Programme, said the implementation of the Australian-funded programme in support of economic reform in Vietnam have so far posted significant achievements, contributing to helping the country lift its international rankings.

Also Director of the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), Minh pointed to a series of bottlenecks facing businesses, like overlapping and unnecessary business conditions and an ineffective single-window mechanism.

VCCI Chairman Loc also noted that further improvements towards sustainable development require a concerted effort from both businesses and State agencies./.