Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has signed an urgent directive to support businesses in overcoming difficulties and to promote production and business activities for the remainder of 2024 and the years to come.

Creating a favorable environment for business development

In the directive, the Prime Minister instructed ministers, heads of government agencies, and provincial and municipal leaders to focus on guiding their respective bodies to intensify efforts and decisively implement measures within their authority to support businesses in overcoming obstacles and boosting production and business activities in the coming months and years.

He emphasized the need for policies that create a favorable environment for businesses to thrive, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to help them grow and develop.

The Prime Minister also encouraged mechanisms for large enterprises to support and promote SMEs, fostering a domestic value chain and developing the supporting industry.

Support policies must be practical and effective, allowing businesses to compete healthily and effectively across sectors. Additionally, there should be consideration for reducing business costs to enhance competitiveness.

The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of decentralization and delegation of power, linked with enhanced accountability for the implementation by agencies and units, and the reduction of unnecessary administrative procedures and permits that increase compliance costs.

He also called for the strengthening of public-private partnerships and suggested some groundbreaking initiatives to transform the economy towards a green economy, such as leveraging Vietnam's geographical advantages near the equator and tropical monsoon climate for renewable energy development, creating green industrial-service clusters, and producing competitive green hydrogen and ammonia.

Continue implementing tax reduction policies and extend deadlines

The Prime Minister tasked the Ministry of Finance with researching and developing appropriate tax policies to support sustainable business development, including for SMEs.

He also called for the continued effective implementation of tax reduction policies and the extension of tax deadlines already issued, and for the acceleration of value-added tax refunds for businesses in accordance with legal regulations.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment must research and improve institutional frameworks and policies to promote fast, comprehensive, and sustainable business development, especially mechanisms that encourage innovation and harness the internal strength of businesses to contribute to the economy, create jobs, and provide livelihoods for people.

For the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Prime Minister urged swift research and completion of the draft Government Resolution on digital transformation.

He also directed the ministry to work with the Ministry of Science and Technology to develop a regulatory framework for artificial intelligence (AI) in Vietnam, with a focus on ethical guidelines, governance frameworks, risk management, product assessment frameworks, and AI standards.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has been instructed to strengthen trade promotion to diversify production, supply chains, and markets, as well as support enterprises in exporting products abroad. The ministry is also tasked with organizing consumer fairs and events to stimulate domestic consumption and increase demand.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has been asked to study and develop mechanisms and policies on resource circulation to promote the green transition, a circular economy, resource conservation, environmental protection, and carbon reduction.

The Prime Minister also instructed the State Bank of Vietnam to direct credit institutions to continue reducing costs, enhance the application of information technology to lower lending interest rates, and promote credit growth, especially in production, priority sectors, and key economic growth drivers (both traditional and new growth drivers).

Additionally, the State Bank of Vietnam must work with relevant agencies to resolve difficulties and effectively implement the VND 140 trillion credit package for social housing loans and preferential credit programs for the forestry and seafood sectors.

At the local level, the Prime Minister urged provincial and municipal leaders to actively engage with businesses, listen to their feedback and recommendations, and promptly develop objectives, tasks, and solutions to support and assist businesses in their regions.

Thu Hang