Over the past years, Hanoi has been implementing measures and policies to support the development of the business community and reform administrative procedures, making the capital second nationwide in terms of the number of enterprises with 280,000 to date, according to the municipal Planning and Investment Department.

As of the end of November, the number of newly established enterprises in Hanoi reached 25,214 with registered capital of VND345.92 trillion (US$14.92 billion), up 8.2% in quantity and 38.5% in value year-on-year.

Statistics from the department revealed the number of newly establishments have been increasing annually, in which small and medium enterprises account for 97% of the total.

The ratio of enterprises to population in Hanoi stood at 1:38, nearly four times the national average at 1:144.

The result was thanks to strong efforts of local authorities in applying technologies in the administrative process, in turn saving time and costs for enterprises.

For example, Hanoi continues to maintain its top ranking among Vietnam’s 63 provinces/cities in online business registration as 100% of applications are submitted online, 98.4% of tax declarations, 100% of e-customs procedures, 97.6% of e-tax payments are performed online, while the city has streamlined over 430 administrative procedures.

Additionally, Hanoi also provides free consultations for enterprises during the process of business registration and human resources training, including training courses for CEO; business administration program; startup assistance with annual financial aid of VND21 billion (US$906,000); market study; legal advices, among others.

The department said Hanoi has issued a proposal supporting innovation startups in the capital until 2025, with vision to 2045, targeting to turn Hanoi into one of Vietnam’s innovation and startup hubs.

Private sector remains driving force for growth

As the final year of the 5-year socio-economic plan 2016 – 2020 is approaching, the private sector has been a spotlight during the process of Vietnam’s integration into global economy.

In Hanoi, enterprises are proving to be the pioneers in applying new business models for breakthroughs in development and playing a significant role in Hanoi’s socio-economic development.

Total investment capital in the 2016 – 2018 period was estimated at VND927.88 trillion (US$40.03 billion), equivalent to 36.4% of the GRDP. A report from the Hanoi People’s Committee suggested a major proportion of the investment capital has shifted from the state sector to private players, helping Hanoi achieve a 4-year high GRDP growth rate of 7.46% in 2019.

For 2020, Hanoi targets the GRDP in 2020 to grow at least 7.5%, resulting in income per capita of VND136 million (US$5,871), significantly higher than Vietnam’s GDP per capita of US$3,000 in the 2016 – 2020 period and an estimated US$4,688 in 2021 – 2025.

Such high growth rates in 2019 and 2020 would help Hanoi achieve an average annual GRDP growth rate of 7.33% - 7.41% in the 2016 – 2020 period, which is in line with the city’s five-year socio-economic development plan.