Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung met on November 22 with National Assembly deputies who were business people, and representatives of business associations on the occasion of the second gathering of the 13th National Assembly. The meeting was organized by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) with the aim of reporting the latest updates from the Vietnamese business community and proposing recommendations to the Government.
“Despite facing many difficulties and challenges, the Vietnamese business community always reaches harmony with the Government’s economic policies, and will follow up the Prime Minister’s guidance in order to continue maintaining economic growth, ensuring social stability and restructuring the economy,” VCCI President Vu Tien Loc reported to the Prime Minister.
According to the VCCI President, almost all enterprises expected that the Government would continue a strict monetary policy and minimize public investments to stabilize the macro economy. However, the monetary policy has also badly affected enterprises accessing capital sources, making a large number of companies close or bankrupt in the coming time, he noted.
A VCCI survey showed that although the number of enterprises facing losses or bankruptcy may keep on rising, the business community is still firmly confident in medium and long-term business performance. Because up to 30 percent of surveyed firms affirmed plans to expand investment in 2012, 40 percent will maintain production scale, and only 20 percent may narrow their businesses, close operation, or dissolve. Over the next three years, around 70 percent of firms will likely expand their operation.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung remarked that Vietnam has gained positive achievements in socio-economic development targets, especially in curbing inflation and stabilizing the macro economy and social lives, despite impacts from the global economic downturn. With suitable policies on curbing inflation, controlling exchange rate, and expanding international relations, especially with export markets such as the EU, USA, and Japan, the Government is witnessing good results in maintaining GDP growth. In the first eleven months of this year, Vietnam saw an export value of US$87 billion, up 34.7 percent, and kept the trade deficit US$8.9 billion, at 10.2 percent of export value. Meanwhile the import surplus in 2010 was 18-19 percent. This is also the first time Vietnam received five million international visitors to the country.
The Prime Minister appreciated the major contributions of the business community and business people to the country’s socio-economic development in recent years, and urged local enterprises to continue restructuring their businesses and operating profitably to overcome the current difficulties and challenges. “The success of enterprises contributes positively to the country’s development,” affirmed the Prime Minister.
Mr Dang Thanh Tam, President of Saigon Invest Group, recommended to the Prime Minister that the Government should immediately inject a sum of money into the economy to help local enterprises continue their businesses, creating a better foundation for 2012, the important year in Vietnam’s 2011-2015 five year period.
To help firms solve difficulties, particularly in capital access, the Government will continue effectively conducting solutions to control inflation and gradually reduce lending interest rate, said the Prime Minister, adding that the Government will try its utmost to hold the inflation rate at 8-9 percent, and keep GDP growth of around 6-6.5 percent.
The Prime Minister noted that the Government will continue policies on reducing or exempting taxes for enterprises, penetrating and expanding more foreign export markets and strictly controlling imports, further reforming administrative procedures, and creating favourable conditions for enterprises to invest in developing effective and sustainable businesses.
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