VCCI Needs to Be Closer to Businesses

Reporter Le Hien interviewed Colonel Chu Dinh Quy, Member of the Board of Directors of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and President of the Board of Directors of X20 Joint Stock Company, on VCCI’s supports for the business community.

 

In the past years, VCCI’s activities got closer to operations of enterprises. VCCI hosted annual dialogues with the Prime Minister, put forth comments to some draft laws (Land Law, Law on Enterprises) or initiated the Vietnam Entrepreneurs Day in honour of business elites. However, the business community needs VCCI to be closer to them as the year 2011 is expected to witness unexpected hardships. During the global economic crisis in 2009, we saw good growth of the business community and the momentum extended to 2010.

 

In 2011, companies actually face extreme hardships, from difficult access to capital sources at the time of exorbitant interest rates and volatile exchanges rates to pressures of price hikes in essential goods like electricity and petroleum. These difficulties are stifling the growth of enterprises. They will collapse if they lack capabilities and capital. Therefore, VCCI needs to share difficulties with enterprises by listening to opinions and aspirations and recommending the Government to adopt more reasonable solutions to maintain a stable policy environment for companies. Then, VCCI fulfils its role as the representative of the Vietnamese business community.

 

With a more than 50-year experience in manufacturing textiles and garments, X20 is a prestigious partner of many domestic companies and a first-rate exporter of motor racing suits, jackets, sportswear and suits inter alia to Europe, the United States and other markets. As most revenues of X20 come from exports, exchange rates largely affect its business operations. In a short time, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) repeatedly makes interventions into the financial market like selling foreign currencies to stabilise the market, applying market-oriented interest rates and increasing base rates. Looking at short-term contextual policies, we see that monetary management policies of Vietnam are slow to market developments, forcing companies to passively respond to the new situations. Therefore, in my opinion, to stabilise the domestic currency value, sustain development and integrate with other countries, Vietnam should restructure business and production policies and complete infrastructure systems, etc. It needs to focus on its strengths like agricultural products, foods, aquatic products, apparels and footwear to use capital channels in the most effective way.

 

The policy that advocates all economic sectors to do business to build the nation is right and suitable to an integrating economy [like Vietnam]. After all, wealthy people will make a powerful nation. Previously, military personnel and Party cadres were disallowing doing business. Servicemen were defined their jobs to battling front and national defence. But, when the Vietnamese economy integrated more deeply into the world and opened to international investors, Vietnamese military personnel could do business as a matter of factor. At present, all can do business. Actually, servicemen not only fight well but also do business well.

With their qualities as courage, enthusiasm, honesty, discipline and opportunity-grasping ability, many soldiers are very successful on the business front. They create jobs and incomes for thousands of soldiers. At X20, we have invested in more than 4,500 modern and synchronous sewing, knitting and weaving devices and have a complete dyeing system. We also have very modern equipment and advanced technologies to create high-end products. Gatexco 20 has created a stable source of income for nearly 4,000 workers.