Minister and Head of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung has conveyed the request from Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) to clarify eight major issues, in addition to the ministry’s assigned duties.

Minster Dung led a governmental working mission on November 14 to inspect the implementation of tasks set by the Government and the PM at the MOIT.

Reports at the working session showed that since the beginning of this year, the MOIT was assigned a total of 486 tasks. It has completed 286 tasks while 187 are due to be finished soon and thirteen remain unfinished.

Speaking at the meeting, Minister Dung said that through the working group, PM Phuc noted the importance of the MOIT, a multidisciplinary agency with a great deal of responsibility. In recent years, the ministry has advised the Government and the PM on many problems in a range of areas related to policy, macroeconomic stability, trade promotion, expanding markets, negotiating free trade agreements and improving the business and investment environment.

However, the PM also asked the MOIT to clarify and provide further explanations of eight major issues.

The first is the ministry’s organisational structure, apparatus and personnel work. The PM has assigned the MOIT to restructure its internal organisation so as to downsize. At that time, the ministry had 30 departments, 32 universities and colleges, and eleven groups and corporations, with a great number of officials, public servants and employees.

The minister required the MOIT to review its personnel work, particularly the appointment of key positions and the selection of trade counsellors abroad, and to learn lessons from the previous term.

The second issue is the performance of its corporations, especially some unprofitable projects. The minister asked the MOIT to clarify the responsibilities of State management agencies and investors in these projects, as well as measures to handle problems and ensure the efficient use of State funds.

The third is the development of Vietnam’s branding. The ministry must urgently propose solutions to build brand names for areas of Vietnam’s strength, such as rice and coffee, as foreign enterprises gradually take over Vietnam’s retail market.

The fourth is promoting privatisation and the divestment of State’s funding from sectors that the State should not hold. Currently, the PM and the Government have undertaken to stop State selling beer and milk and the divestment of State funding from such sectors to attract resources from the private sector and foreign investors.

The ministry has been actively selling Hanoi Beer and Saigon Beer companies’ stocks, but it needs determination to implement the divestment roadmap as soon as possible, Minister Dung affirmed.

Fifthly, the PM reminded the MOIT to promote measures to reform and perfect institutions to create favourable conditions for production and business activities, particularly for supporting industry, startups and small and medium-sized enterprises.

The PM also asked the ministry to focus on market management, anti-counterfeiting goods and fighting against commercial fraud.

The seventh is environmental problems related to hydro and thermal power projects. The PM noted that the ministry should be concerned about local people when developing such projects, as well as pollution in Vinh Tan and Duyen Hai Thermal Power Plants and discharge licencing in such projects as Formosa.

The last issue is the preparation of an energy development strategy. The PM asked about ensuring adequate electricity supplies for the South and for the production and business activities of enterprises, serving industrialisation and modernisation.

The head of the working group also requested that the MOIT explain thirteen overdue tasks, giving clear reasons for the delays and outlining difficulties in implementation (if there are any) and scheduling times for their completion. The working group will make a full report on this matter and present it at the upcoming Government meeting.

Nhan Dan