Hanoi (VNA) – Clear mechanisms and policies play a speciallyimportant role as a launching platform for the private economic sector to makebreakthroughs and greatly contribute to the national economic development.

Resolution 10/NQ-TW of the Party Central Committee on developing the privateeconomy into an important driving force of the socialist-oriented marketeconomy reflected the strong renovation of the Party regarding this issue, pavingthe way for the private economy to become a dynamic and creative economicsector.

To realise the resolution, the National Assembly issued and instructed theimplementation of several important laws such as the Law on Competition and theLaw on Support for Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises. The legislature alsoissued a law amending some articles of the Investment Law in which conditionalbusinesses lines were cut down from 267 to 243 from July 2017.

The Government, ministries, sectors and localities have issued many guidingdocuments and implementing a wide range of action programmes, thus creating afavourable and clear business environment for the private economy to grow.

Talking with private businesses, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc pledged tocontinue providing a space, resources and opportunities for the private sectorto develop more easily.

The Government leader’s commitment has been concretised with a series ofimportant policies such as Resolution 19/NQ-CP on major tasks and solutions to improvethe business environment and enhancing national competitiveness in 2017,with orientation to 2020; Resolution 35/NQ-CP on business support anddevelopment by 2020; Resolution 98/NQ-CP promulgating the Government’s actionprogramme to realise the Party Central Committee’s Resolution 10/NQ-TW.

♕[Private economic sector – important driver of economy]

In addition, an array of business environment improvement measures have been launchedby the Government and the Prime Minister such as reforming administrativeprocedures, reducing production and business costs, accessing markets,reorganize inspection activities, and simplifying and reducing businessconditions.  

Many legal documents have been issued to guide the implementation of lawsrelated to business and management activities of the private sector.

Resolution 98 delivers a message of building “a government of action” thatfocuses on removing institutional obstacles to help businesses reduce costs,improve operational efficiency, and raise competitiveness. On that spirit, theresolution called on ministries, sectors and localities to engage in performingthe task of “creating a favourable business and investment environment for thedevelopment of the private sector and support it in renovating and modernisingtechnologies, developing human resources, and improving labour productivity”.

The action programme also urged People’s Committees of provinces and cities to organiseperiodical open dialogue at least twice a year with the business community andpress agencies to promptly remove difficulties and obstacles facingenterprises.

In its Resolution 35, the Government has launched a series of measures tocreate a favourable business and investment environment, support firms inaccessing credit, production and business premises, and markets as well asthose to help enterprises cut production costs, thus contributing to increasingnational competitiveness, promoting the development of the private sector, andforming several potential, large-scale economic groups.

A noteworthy thing in the implementation of the Government’s reform programmesis the activeness and proactiveness of the concerned ministries and agencies.

In 2018, the ministries and agencies reviewed and submitted 28 legal documents,cut more than 3,300 out of nearly 6,200 business conditions, or 54.5 percent, exceeding8,1 percent compared to that required by the Government. Those with the largestnumber of simplified business conditions included the Ministry of Industry andTrade, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Transport.

In 2019, improving the business investment environment continued to be one of focusesof the Government. On January 1, 2019, the Government issued Resolution 02/NQ-CPon continuing to implement key tasks and solutions to improve the businessenvironment and enhance national competitiveness in 2019, with orientation to2021.

One and a half years since the Law on Support for Small- and Medium-sizedEnterprises (SMEs) took effect, decrees and circulars guiding theimplementation of the law have basically been fully promulgated. In order tourgently bring a number of policies stipulated in the law to life, the Ministryof Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance have been activelyfinalizing a draft Government Decree on supplementing a number of professions andsectors eligible for investment incentives prescribed in the Law on Support forSmall- and Medium-sized Enterprises and the National Assembly's Resolution on corporateincome tax incentives for SMEs.

Many localities have developed plans and projects to support small andmedium-sized businesses with specific policies to meet their real SMEsdevelopment requirements.

The efforts of the Government, ministries, agencies and localities in buildinga transparent business environment have created a foundation for the strong developmentof the private sector in recent years.

The sector has become one of the important driving forces for the nationaleconomy as it creates about 42 percent of the country’s gross domestic product(GDP), contributes 30 percent of State budget revenue, and attracts 85 percentof labour force./.