Simultaneously, allow businesses and cooperatives to have debt rescheduling, debt repayment term structure, fee exemption and reduction, no penalty for late payment, and maintaining the same debt group for customers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic so that they have more time to recover debt repayment and overcome their bad debt.

An overview of the annual Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) high-level session with the theme "Economic recovery and supply chain development in the new normal context". Photo: Nhat Bac

The government always accompanies businesses

Speaking at the opening session of the annual Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) high-level session with the theme "Economic recovery and supply chain development in the new normal context" taking place on February 21 in Hanoi, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said that in 2021, nearly 160,000 businesses have been established and returned to operation.

Foreign direct investment attraction recovered, total registered capital reached more than US$31 billion, up 9.2% compared to 2020. This showed that foreign investors continued to believe in the Government's Covid-19 prevention and control results, as well as the investment environment in Vietnam.

In terms of innovation, e-commerce, digital transformation, digital technology application, and cultural industry, new business models and activities have received more attention, intensive and extensive investment and development.

In the first month of 2022, with a fierce, hard-working spirit, on January 30, the Government issued Resolution No. 11/NQ-CP on the Socio-economic Development and Recovery Program and implemented Resolution No. 43/2022/QH15 of the National Assembly on fiscal and monetary policies to support the Program. This resolution is considered an important document of the Government in directing to concretize Resolution 43/2022/QH15 of the National Assembly, focusing on the two years of 2022 - 2023.

Therefore, with the theme "Economic recovery and supply chain development in the new normal", the conference will be an opportunity for the business community to contribute ideas and propose solutions to implement the Government's Resolution No. 11/NQ-CP on the Socio-economic development and recovery program; simultaneously identify the responsibilities of the State management agencies and the business community in improving the business investment environment, promoting the development of the private economic sector, and actively contributing to Vietnam’s sustainable development; represent the companionship of the Government and the business community to overcome difficulties, stabilize, and restore production and business.

10 recommendations

To realize the goals and effectively implement the tasks and solutions that the Government has set, Pham Tan Cong, Chairman of the Vietnam Federation of Trade and Industry, said that the domestic business community has a number of recommendations to State agencies.

First, improve the effectiveness of disseminating policies and regulations so that enterprises (especially micro and small-scale units), cooperatives, and business households can easily access information;

Second, allow businesses and cooperatives to have debt rescheduling, debt repayment term structure, fee exemption and reduction, no penalty for late payment of credit, keep the same debt group for customers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic so that they have more time to recover, repay and overcome bad debt.

It is necessary to quickly implement the 2% credit interest rate support program for commercial loans in the recovery support program under Resolution 11 of the Government. Low-interest loan packages with a term of three to six months to support businesses in paying wages to workers during the economic recovery period should be strongly implemented;

Third, simplify immigration and travel procedures for workers and experts;

Fourth, improve the effectiveness of training support programs for employees who have been laid off or lost their jobs due to the pandemic;

Fifth, promote the application of information technology in administrative procedures, towards the complete settlement of administrative procedures on the network environment.

Sixth, improve the enforcement efficiency of the government apparatus, avoid inconsistency, where each locality makes and understands regulations differently, which makes it difficult for businesses to operate;

Seventh, improve the ability to take advantage of the FTA tariff preferences, and open up policies related to rules of origin;

Eighth, identify the development of the digital economy as the growth engine of the economy, creating a mechanism to promote e-commerce;

Ninth, promote the development of the domestic market by continuing to promote the campaign "Vietnamese people give priority to using Vietnamese goods" and the movement "Vietnamese goods conquer Vietnamese people". Simultaneously, promote linkages between business associations and industry associations in coordinating the consumption of each other's products to diversify input material sources and output markets, reduce dependence on international markets.

Finally, continue to improve the business environment and improve national competitiveness, with a focus on reforming administrative procedures, business conditions, and cutting costs for businesses.

The Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) is a continuous and close dialogue mechanism between the Vietnamese Government and the domestic and international business community. It aims to improve business conditions to promote the development of the private sector, facilitate the investment environment, and contribute to Vietnam's sustainable economic growth.