Local businesses highly appreciated a number of measures that the Vietnamese government has taken to support them in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr. Hong Sun, Co-Chair of the annual Vietnam Business Forum 2020 (VBF) told a press conference on December 21 in Hanoi.

The business community, including domestic and foreign-invested enterprises, are having great expectations for business development regarding the government's support solutions.

Mr. Hong Sun, Co-Chair of the annual Vietnam Business Forum 2020 (VBF) is speaking at a press conference on December 21 in Hanoi. Photo: Nhat Minh

Speaking at the conference, Mr. Hong Sun said that 2020 has been a challenging year for the business community due to the impacts of the pandemic. However, the Vietnamese government has successfully controlled the pandemic in all localities. "This helps Vietnam start recovering its economy faster than other countries, as well as affirming Vietnam as a safer destination than other countries in the eyes of investors,” he said.

On December 22, the annual VBF 2020 will officially open in Hanoi with the theme "Challenges and opportunities in the new normal” and be co-chaired by Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, Senior Country Director for Vietnam of the International Finance Organization Kyle F. Kelhofer and Country Director of the World Bank Carolyn Turk.

The VBF is a continuous and close dialogue mechanism between the government of Vietnam and the domestic and international businesses, aiming to create favourable conditions for the development of private sector, facilitate the investment climate and contribute to the sustainable economic growth in Vietnam.

Due to the serious development of Covid-19, the business community is looking forward to this forum, which offers suggestions to help companies restart operations more quickly and attract foreign direct investment. The forum will also announce the outcome of the talks between Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and the local business community, which took place on December 10, Hong added. 

In 2020, with the efforts that have been made, Vietnam has well accomplished its dual goal of effectively controlling the Covid-19 pandemic while maintaining positive growth results with encouraging production and business indicators, most remarkably attaining a surprising export turnover.

“This is also a very favorable time for Vietnam to take advantage of to increase the attraction of foreign investment more strongly than ever with the improvement of more open economic, financial and tax policies, as well as creating more favorable conditions for investors,” Mr. Hong told Hanoitimes. “In the near future, we believe that Vietnam will make a spectacular breakthrough.”

However, according to Mr. Hong, the solutions to support businesses should be timely in order to suit the reality and get closer to the needs of businesses. 

In addition to specific actions helping businesses dealing with difficulties caused by the pandemic, the business community expected the government to take concrete and quick measures to solve the bottlenecks that are hindering business operation.

Besides, they also suggested Vietnam should take advantage of integration opportunities from new-generation free trade agreements to recover and promote development, Mr. Hong emphasized.

The forum will include three major sessions: Overview of the business situation in the Covid-19 pandemic; Rebooting business activities: attract mobile investment flows; and Providing recommendations to boost participation of local businesses in the value chain.