The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has creatively endeavoured to uphold its role as a national agency representing and protecting the rights, supporting and promoting the Vietnamese business community in all aspects of economy, business and labour relations.
Dr Vu Tien Loc, VCCI President, said Vietnam now has over 300 business associations, of which about a third have nationwide operations. In addition to 4.6 million individual business households, the business sector is employing about 11 million workers, including more than 60 percent generated by private sector.
Over half a century of construction and development, VCCI has a proud history but its development attachment to national renovation and development is the most special thing.
Inspiring entrepreneurship
VCCI has tirelessly endeavoured for the development of the business and community and the entrepreneur force. VCCI has evoked entrepreneurial spirits and egged on private economic development. VCCI not only focuses on big enterprises but also stands at the forefront of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), promoting and supporting the development of local professional associations and business associations. VCCI has also actively participated in contributing comments and recommendations to the lawmaking National Assembly to add entrepreneurs to the amended Constitution of 2013 to affirm their positions and roles in the political system of the country.
Besides, VCCI has collaborated with related agencies to study and raise opinions to normative documents concerning economy and business. VCCI has also actively built and deployed a scheme on building systems of business associations, employer associations and SME support networks across the nation to meet the current development context of Vietnam and importantly improve the operating quality of private business sector in Vietnam’s multi-sector economy. With its specific operations like training support, trade promotion and organisation of local agencies representative of the business community, VCCI has become a reliable address and mainstay of the business community and the entrepreneur force.
Creating strong reform momentum
According to VCCI’s survey on “Impacts of international economic integration after five years of Vietnam’s admission to WTO on the development of Vietnamese conditions community,” the mean labour productivity is below VND200 million a year, a very modest number in comparison with similar businesses in other countries in the region.
Enhancing the competitiveness for businesses must firstly improve the business environment. According to a business survey by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC), Vietnam is one of ASEAN countries with the most limitations in basic criteria in creating the business environment.
Together with the business community, VCCI has generated strong impetuses for business environment reform, particularly after its launch of provincial competitiveness index (PCI), inspired emulation movements, enhanced economic governance quality and public administration reform at local levels. VCCI’s voice and prestige are also increasingly strengthened while its business supporting activities are also increasingly enriched.
The process of economic integration and restructuring is still quite tough and challenging to the business community. To enhance the competitiveness and sustainable development for business community, VCCI has creatively collaborated with central and local governments and business community to raise the quality of production and business environment, with main contents as follows.
With the aim of further improving the investment and business climate in Vietnam, VCCI is working as a positive actor in carrying out the Government’s Project 30 on administrative procedure reform, introducing assessment criteria for administrative procedure reform at central agencies and localities, and publicising its results to the business community and citizens. VCCI continues to carry out PCI, MEI and ASEAN Customs Single-window Project to reduce opportunity costs for businesses while hosting Vietnam business forums with key markets and the Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) to grasp problems, difficulties and shortcomings in administrative procedures and macro policies to report to competent authorities for consideration and change. VCCI coordinates with central agencies and business associations to build the business development strategy until 2030 to enhance competitiveness, productivity, branding corporate social responsibility so as to gradually raise business levels.
A remarkable success of VCCI’s operations is market expansion and market search for businesses. VCCI has joined hands with central agencies and business associations to improve the quality of negotiations to expand markets and market forecast information in order to improve competitiveness and strengthen international integration of Vietnamese businesses. Besides, it has actively supported businesses in market information, consultation, training, promotion development and investment at regional and international levels and assisted businesses to minimise operating risks in international integration.
VCCI Effectively Represents the Voice of Business Community
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Tuc, General Director of General Department of Vietnam Customs
The General Department of Vietnam Customs always highly appreciates VCCI’s roles in the past years. With the rapid development of the customs sector, we away regard VCCI as an important consulting channel representative of the voice of business community. Accelerated public administration reform and customs modernisation will not be successful if businesses do not take part in. Therefore, with its bridging role, VCCI closely works with the customs sector to speed up its public administration reform, reflect difficulties against business, and warm up customs-business relations. VCCI also leads businesses to take part in major customs policies. Typical customs-business activities with the support of VCCI include the annual dialogue between tax and customs authorities with businesses or bimonthly customs-business forums started from the beginning of 2015, and VNACCS/VCIS electronic customs system.
2015 is the final year of the five-year modernisation and reform plan (2011-2015) and is a banner year for the next five year plan (2016-2020). The General Department of Vietnam Customs has proposed five key tasks: (1) Enforcing the amended Customs Law; (2) Continuing public administration reform and modernisation, effectively carrying out the Resolution 19/NQ-CP of the Government and the Directive 25/CT-TTg of the Prime Minister; (3) exceeding State budget revenue target set for 2015; (4) Stepping up the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeiting, demonstrating the important role of the General Department of Vietnam Customs in protecting the healthy business environment and protecting the health of the community; (5) Improving the expertise and conducts of employees. Therefore, we expect to receive more and closer cooperation from VCCI and the response from the business community.
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