Speaking during a group discussion on April 10, Dien noted that Vietnam is now the world’s 32nd largest economy, with economic openness equal to twice its GDP. Any external fluctuations have immediate domestic impacts.

However, Vietnam’s legal framework still has a certain gap compared to international laws and practices.

He cited an example that in the world, the purchase and sale of strategic items are often carried out on exchanges, with clear floor and ceiling price frames, instead of having to go through bidding.

International practice mainly involves negotiating within this price range, whereas Vietnam requires bidding. This leads to the emergence of “intermediary units,” giving rise to additional time costs and opportunity costs.

According to him, the issue of institutional regime, therefore, is the key in removing obstacles and ensuring compliance with international practices. This is the most important task at present, which needs to be handled on a weekly and monthly basis, focusing on resolving growth bottlenecks.

Another important task is to strengthen the confidence of domestic and foreign investors. The current investment wave shows that the economy remains stable, not only due to a favorable political environment but also because energy prices are low compared to the rest of the world.

He said that energy prices are low partly because they have not been correctly and fully calculated. For example, the cost of electricity production on the spot market between Vietnam and the world does not differ significantly, but costs such as transmission, dispatch, and distribution have not yet been fully accounted for.

The cost level in Vietnam is also lower than in many countries in the region. With their income, foreign investors can maintain a favorable life when working in Vietnam.

The Vietnamese market consists not only of 105 million residents but also extends to billions of consumers through signed Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).

"Between 72-74 percent of the current export value still belongs to FDI enterprises. This means that FDI enterprises benefit greatly from cheap energy prices, cheap labor costs, and Vietnam's very large export market," Dien said, adding that investment attraction must attract not only capital but also management capacity.

According to Dien, conditions must be set so that foreign investors coming to Vietnam do not just exploit local advantages but create a spillover effect for the local business community, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, and exploit local raw material sources.

The investment environment must be re-established so that FDI enterprises bring money along with new technology and management. Only then will investment attraction be substantive.

Dien noted that, domestically, large enterprises are mainly in the real estate sector, with very few operating in high-tech production fields.

"How to make people and society feel secure investing rather than putting money into land and gold, or taking money abroad to invest," Dien said.

He said he agreed with tightening the tax collection management, but the question is how to tighten thoroughly, and how to collect taxes to nurture the source of revenue, as well as the strength of people and businesses. 

Regarding the NA’s authority on tax policies, the NA Vice Chair also believed that authorizing the Government is completely appropriate because the National Assembly cannot convene meetings all the time. 

Besides, tax policy must create a two-way legal corridor; there must be decreases and increases: if world prices decrease, taxes must be increased again to avoid revenue loss, profiteering, and smuggling.

He stressed the need to reduce taxes at the right time, increase them when appropriate, and target the right groups.

Bank interest rates to decrease 

Deputy To Huy Vu from Hanoi, Chair of the Board of Directors of Agribank, said that recently banks have engaged in an interest rate race. This is causing pressure on liquidity and on the exchange rate.

The State Bank of Vietnam has asked commercial banks to implement drastic solutions to ensure a reduction in interest rates. The banks reached a very high consensus to reduce interest rates by 0.5 to 1 percent.

The central bank has also issued strict directives on interest rate listing and strengthened discipline in rate adjustments. It will also consider adjusting credit growth quotas, based on banks’ compliance with interest rate regulations.

Tran Thuong