Vietnam has made some strides in administrative reform but local enterprises are still grappling with administrative procedures relating to taxes, sub-licenses and inspections, heard at a meeting between National Assembly (NA) deputies and businesses on October 3.

Aside from capital, market and technology, the business community needs policy transparency for sustainable development, Nguyen Van Be, chairman of the association of enterprises in export processing zones and industrial parks in HCMC, said at the meeting with the delegation of NA deputies of HCMC.

Vietnam has executed administrative reform for years but documents and procedures regulating business activity have remained complicated. For instance, the Ministry of Finance has more than 1,600 administrative procedures, the Ministry of Justice 678, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs 569, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development 569 and the Ministry of Industry and Trade 548.

Enterprises have to handle hundreds of sub-licenses and papers required by competent agencies while it takes up to 14 days to clear a consignment. Checks by ministries and agencies have made life tough for many businesses, Be said.

President of the HCMC Union of Business Association Huynh Van Minh suggested the Government should collect comments from businesses and citizens before issuing new decisions on economic and business issues because they are impacted directly by the decisions.

Material, tax pressure

Tran Viet Anh, general director of Nam Thai Son Co Ltd, expressed concern over the severe shortage of domestic material supply for plastics companies.

The nation imports around four million tons of plastic material worth US$1,300 each year. Meanwhile, neighboring countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore have produced plastic grains for domestic consumption and export the surplus to Vietnam.

Vietnamese firms buy plastic grains from regional countries for manufacturing, so they fail to compete against plastic products of regional peers. Besides, since early September the nation has imposed a 3% import tariff on PP grains, piling pressure on domestic producers.

Currently, Thai enterprises have had the upper hand in the local retail market, so Vietnamese plastic products are never found at supermarkets owned by Thai investors. This has hindered domestic plastics firms, he added.

Speaking to the business community, HCMC Party chief Dinh La Thang said he would tell relevant agencies to consider comments and complaints of businesses.

The State pushes up development of all economic constituents with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises. HCMC authorities are determined to solve problems faced by businesses but the process is time-consuming.

The city will build a bridge between authorities and enterprises to help businesses, thereby turning the city into a large economic-trade-education center of the country, Thang said.

State President Tran Dai Quang at the meeting said the country’s international integration has brought about many challenges. Local enterprises may see challenges not only on global markets but also the home market.

SGT