A host of difficulties face small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Dang Huy Dong told a conference on March 2 in Hanoi on policies to support SMEs and the experience of Japan.

He also insisted that SMEs play a major role in Vietnam’s economic development, so the aim of the conference is to discuss the experience of Japanese SMEs and provide useful information to Vietnam’s SMEs.

Mr. Hiroshi Arai, Head of the Foreign Business Support Department under the SMEs Agency at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, said that SMEs in Japan are key to the Japanese economy and policies have therefore been adopted to provide support. 

Japanese SMEs receive guidance from the very beginning, focusing on administrative procedures, regulations, the organizing of production and technology, and financial plans to operate efficiently.

Many well-known economic groups in Japan began as SMEs, he said.

Economic experts claimed that Vietnamese SMEs constantly meet three problems: capital, government policies, and business capacity.

Most struggle to develop under centralized management. Existing policies assist State-owned enterprises, while polices for SMEs adopted in 2009 are yet to achieve significant results.

Other issues include human resources management, capital management, and systems development.

To resolve such problem, the Vietnamese Government and ministries have introduced policies to boost SMEs.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment has prepared and submitted to the government a draft Law on Supporting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, with specific provisions on resources and mechanisms to support SMEs.

Deputy Minister Dong also acknowledged the support received from Japanese experts and hoped it would continue.

The Japanese experts said that SMEs must overcome a number of weaknesses to seize opportunities to grow.

VN Economic Times