VIETNAM – March 4, 2004
Workers return to work in a footwear plant in southern Vit Nam. VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Li
H NI Improving Vit Nam’s business environment is one of the top priorities for the future, especially since the country is trying get the economy back on track. This was according to economists and policymakers who spoke at a conference held in H Ni on Thursday.
According to Nguyn nh Cung (ex-head of the Central Institute for Economic Management), the country’s recent social and mobility restrictions meant that COVID-19 spread slowly. This has significantly hindered efforts to improve the business environment.
As reforms slowed down, there was resistance from the government’s ministries.
He said, “We have seen the return of business requirements that had been once removed as well additional requirements put into place.”
Dr Nguyn minh Tho, head CIEM’s competition and business environment department, stated that efforts to improve Vietnam’s business climate had slowed significantly since the beginning of 2019.
Tho claimed that too many government commitments were written but not implemented or reviewed.
She stated that “For instance, while local governments have reported an increase number of online administrative procedures in many cases, they have not been able service businesses effectively.”
This is reflected in Vit Nam’s low-than-impressive Economic Freedom score. The country was ranked 17th in the AsiaPacific region, with 61.7 points. This is just 0.01 points more than the average world score.
Trn Duy ng, deputy minister for planning and investment, spoke at the conference. He stated that the Government was committed to long-term and sustainable improvements in the business environment and considered them a driving force of economic recovery and national development.
ng stated that the Prime Minister’s Office approved in January the Government Decree02/NQ-CP, and authorized funding for a programme intended to speed up this process. The Government reiterated its priority to increase the country’s competitiveness.
However, Tho said that 24 of 26 ministry-level bodies had just established deadlines for implementing reforms. Notably, the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism and Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry hadn’t made public information about their action plan.
Similarly, only 50/63 of 63 governments had filed action plans with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, while 13 others (including the localities of B Ra/Vng Tu and Bc Liu) had not.
Cung commented on the slow progress and stressed the importance support measures for the business community. This community has been badly affected by the pandemic, and is in dire need of streamlined, less expensive services to recover.
He encouraged all government agencies and offices to increase their efforts to improve business conditions. He suggested that technical barriers should be removed while local governments examine and remove unnecessary and costly administrative processes.
Cung stated that efforts must be focused to push for ongoing reforms and to thwart resistance from ministerial office to changes. Administrative reforms should not be treated differently between international and domestic firms. VNS