Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has started his first meeting in Ho Chi Minh City with the business community this morning.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc

Themed “Vietnamese companies, drivers of growth,” the meeting is currently taking place at the Independence Palace, Ho Chi Minh City. There, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc is listening to firms’ comments and proposals regarding the business environment and the bureaucracy process in Vietnam. This is the PM’s very first meeting with the business community, which comes three weeks after he took office.

“We should provide the most favourable environment for companies to grow as they are the pioneers of our economy . This calls for more progressive laws to improve the business community in terms of both quantity and quality. Anything that hinders this growth should be changed and I hope to hear a lot from attending firms today,” PM Phuc stressed during his opening speech.

He thus expressed his wish that the meeting would be a meaningful, straightforward and heart-felt interaction between the government and the business community.

“The meeting today should result in real changes in the law, and ultimately a greater trust in the Vietnamese business community,” the PM noted.

As part of the meeting, Chairman of the people’s committees of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will sign a memorandum with the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), promising to foster the best business environment for firms in these two major cities.

According to Vu Tien Loc, chairman of the VCCI, the meeting comes at a crucial time as only 42 per cent of 500,000 firms in Vietnam have recorded profits in 2015. This setback means that business efficiency remains low and the domestic business environment is still unable to support growth.

As a result, Loc looked forward to seeing great contributions from attending firms and responses from the PM. Prior to the meeting, the VCCI has submitted a 200-page proposal to the PM and relevant ministries. 

The meeting with PM Phuc this morning is joined by representatives from 300 domestic private firms, 50 foreign-invested firms, 20 equitised state-owned enterprises and 10 cooperatives. Related associations of these firms are also in attendance.

The meeting will also be broadcasted live via 62 stations around Vietnam, which is an unprecedented move for an event of this kind.

In the afternoon, PM Phuc will meet with relevant government bodies to discuss the suggestions put forward by the business community this morning. Later on, he will return to Hanoi to discuss with the government on a new resolution named “Helping Vietnamese firms become the main drivers of the economic growth”. 

Vu Tien Loc, chairman of the VCCI

VIR