Vietnamese businessmen have written a miraculous story

Vietnamese entrepreneurs have steadfastly weathered the storm, writing miraculous stories of remarkable development…

Difficulties will awaken your hidden potential.

That is what Mr. Le Duy Toan, General Director of Duy Anh Foods, shared on his personal page while attending the Anuga 2023 International Food Industry Fair in Germany from October 7 to 11. Duy Anh Foods is one of 80 Vietnamese export enterprises attending this fair. Business owner Le Duy Toan studied abroad in the US, thought he had escaped the sour smell of grinding rice to make rice paper at 4 a.m. in his hometown of Cu Chi (HCMC) and dreamed of the opportunity to settle in the US that day, but seeing a package of rice paper "made in Thailand" on the supermarket shelves in the US completely changed his career decision. After graduating, Le Duy Toan returned to Vietnam, starting his career with his father's traditional profession, producing dried products from rice and proudly exporting them abroad.

Many Vietnamese businesses have reached out to the world. Photo: VinFast electric car factory in Hai Phong

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Up to now, Duy Anh Foods products have been available on supermarket shelves in foreign countries such as Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, the US, etc. Mr. Toan shared: "Being an entrepreneur in any era has its difficulties, but in difficulties, we can realize our hidden potential. Calmness can be a gift, or a sign of a storm. Making money has never been easy, in the midst of a difficult world, the more optimistic and positive we are... we will find unexpected results. And we have been seeing positive signals from long trips. Especially capturing consumer trends, understanding, and interest of consumers in other countries for goods from Vietnam. Positive things are contagious, proud, and very encouraging". This time, the company brought many products made from rice such as rice paper rolls, fresh vermicelli, mixed vegetable vermicelli, rice straws, etc. with careful packaging and always updated to grasp the new consumption trends of the world. In addition to meeting strict quality standards, the company has long been oriented to research and make products following the trend of green, clean, sustainable and environmentally friendly food. "We found many opportunities for Duy Anh Foods to promote the export of rice straw to partners around the world," Mr. Toan emphasized.

Faced with many choices such as stopping business, reducing production to "preserve points", enterprises have chosen to persevere, try to maintain, put the most important thing on keeping jobs for workers, and try to contribute to economic growth in a difficult context. I think this is a brave and resilient action. __Dr. VU TIEN LOC , Member of the Economic Committee of the National Assembly

Rice export is considered to have many advantages in the context of many production and business sectors facing difficulties as present. Mr. Pham Thai Binh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company, admitted that rice is a lucky industry, with very good "heavenly time and geographical advantages". Therefore, in the first 9 months of 2023, rice export turnover exceeded the whole year of 2022. But those are just numbers. "The sharp increase in rice prices in recent times has helped farmers benefit more and that is our great expectation with the strategy of sustainable agricultural economic development" is what Mr. Pham Thai Binh is most satisfied with.

Exporting branded rice, processed products in the food industry, etc. is a step forward in Vietnam's previous raw agricultural export industry. From France, Associate Professor, Dr. Dinh Xuan Thao, former Director of the Institute for Legislative Studies under the National Assembly Standing Committee, commented that Vietnamese agricultural products are deeply processed, in an environmentally friendly direction, and are increasingly appearing on supermarket shelves in demanding markets. He used the word "resilient" when commenting on the Vietnamese business community, which is increasingly asserting its position in the international market. Especially, in difficult years, epidemics, many countries facing economic recession, geopolitical conflicts, inflation, unemployment, etc., Vietnam is still highly appreciated for its stability.

The more difficult it is, the more resilient Vietnamese businesses are.

Looking back over the past decades, Dr. Vu Tien Loc, member of the National Assembly's Economic Committee, was moved to say that the Vietnamese business community and entrepreneurs have written a miraculous story of remarkable development. From being nowhere on the country's economic map, Vietnam now has over 6 million business entities, including 900,000 enterprises, 5.2 million business households and tens of millions of entrepreneurs steering the economic ship. From a poor country, known only through wars, Vietnam has had businesses bringing Vietnamese brands to the international market, with competitiveness and entrepreneurs whose names are listed in the world rankings. The private economic sector alone has contributed about 45% of the country's GDP. It is worth mentioning that during the past 1/3 of a century of development, the road has not always been paved with roses. In 2008, the business community had to go through a global crisis. After more than 10 years, we have suffered an unprecedented crisis, the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic. Until now, the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict has not yet passed, but the Hamas-Israel conflict has begun again.

More and more businesses are producing green, clean, and environmentally friendly products.

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According to Mr. Loc, after the extremely strong economic shocks, we are like people limping towards the future, no longer accelerating forward like in previous crises. That is not to mention new events, new risks, fluctuations and new challenges. However, with the force of mainly small and very small enterprises, Vietnamese enterprises and entrepreneurs are still resilient, not only struggling to maintain production and business activities to "preserve themselves" but also aiming for a higher responsibility of keeping jobs for workers, supporting the Government to stabilize society.

"In the continuous storms, even the strong leading cranes have been worn down. Faced with many choices such as stopping business, reducing production to "preserve points", enterprises have chosen to persevere, try to maintain, put the most important thing on keeping jobs for workers, trying to contribute to economic growth in difficult contexts. I think this is a brave and resilient action", Dr. Vu Tien Loc acknowledged.

Assessing that Vietnamese businessmen are still in a storm, Dr. Vu Tien Loc analyzed that although the world economy has shown signs of improvement, it is still facing difficulties. The export market of Vietnamese enterprises is shrinking. Domestically, production is difficult, employment and income of workers are declining, purchasing power is low, the market is gloomy. Foreign investment is not as expected, private investment is weak. Public investment, although there are new impulses, the disbursement rate is still low. The three main growth engines of the economy: export, consumption, and investment are all in a state of stagnation. Vietnamese enterprises, after a period of struggling to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic, now continue to face new difficulties, some of which are even more severe. Therefore, the recovery requirement for the Vietnamese economy and business community does not mean returning to the state of yesterday, but establishing a new, higher equilibrium, with a more superior structure. Recovery must go hand in hand with upgrading to meet the requirements of the new phase.

"With that requirement, the leading and pioneering role of the creative state through breakthroughs in institutional reform, human resource development, and infrastructure improvement is extremely important," Mr. Loc emphasized.

Superior institutions, the strength of enterprises will be promoted

Associate Professor, Dr. Dinh Xuan Thao believes that with the advantage of a stable political and social foundation, Vietnam needs to focus resources to strengthen domestic enterprises and be able to compete with foreign enterprises, which is important. Resolution 41 of the Politburo that has just been issued is a "gift" that Vietnam needs to focus on to have a strong team of entrepreneurs in terms of quantity and quality. Domestic enterprises need to focus on upgrading their capacity, workforce, and acquiring technology to meet the requirements and needs of foreign investment. Some economic data in the past 9 months shows that Vietnam's economy in general is quite "resilient" despite many difficulties in production and export of goods, increased prices of imported raw materials, limited access to loans, etc. However, looking directly at the difficulties that cause stagnation to find breakthrough solutions is necessary. For example, removing policies and loan opportunities for the real estate industry. The longer this industry is "frozen", the slower the economy will recover. Second, in a recent statement by a banking industry leader, there are no borrowers for excess money; meanwhile, businesses complain that they cannot borrow because they do not meet the conditions for old debts and collateral. So why don't policymakers and businesses find a common voice to work together to overcome difficulties?

"Vietnamese people have high energy, entrepreneurial spirit, resilience, resilience, and flexibility. Our weakest point is the low quality of institutions, the legal system is still overlapping, inconsistent, and not transparent; green transformation, digital transformation, and circular economy are still in the early stages. However, this is also an opportunity because institutions are factors that we can be proactive in. As long as we have outstanding institutions, upgrading from the world average to the advanced level, reforming and liberating resources, we can immediately boost the strength of Vietnamese enterprises," said Dr. Vu Tien Loc.

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Unblocking capital and legal issues

In general, the Vietnamese economy will still face difficulties by the end of this year. The 6% growth rate is difficult to achieve and Standard Chartered Bank forecasts it will only reach 4.7%. Although bank interest rates have decreased, businesses cannot access them. Banks do not dare to lend because of strict regulations. For example, real estate businesses doing projects must have a construction permit before lending capital. Meanwhile, the legal system is currently deadlocked, it takes several years to get a construction permit. Therefore, the Government and ministries and branches need a more special support package for the economy. Access to capital must be easier, how to make the blood vessels circulate, it is very difficult to keep the cash flow "blocked" like now. In particular, it is necessary to speed up the process of removing difficulties for real estate projects by passing the Land Law early, the most important of which is land valuation. If this can be done, businesses will soon recover. At the same time, businesses must find ways to restructure, find ways to save themselves, and equip themselves with factors to accelerate. Enterprises are coping very well, but how to overcome the serious illness must develop well. In addition to the support of the state, enterprises must review the problem to have a suitable orientation for the trend. They must strongly apply 4.0 technology, aiming for green growth and green economy. Enterprises that want to be export partners must have real green certificates, not just for show. There must be proactive policies so that when the economy recovers, they can promptly accelerate and develop. Prof. Dr. Tran Viet Anh , Vice Principal in charge of Hung Vuong Dinh Son University (recorded)

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Activate new growth drivers

The change in the number of newly established enterprises is also a positive sign when the process of business restructuring and production recovery is being focused on and promoted. To support enterprises to recover soon, promoting the economy in 2024 and the following years must be identified as the period of "activating new economic growth drivers in the context of economic integration with many changes". In which, many national programs proactively address issues of improving the legal environment, encouraging the private economy, developing the digital economy, accessing core technology sectors, promoting the quality of human resources, labor productivity and responding to sustainable development issues. In terms of macro solutions, the Government's promotion of public investment will greatly affect the economy. In which, infrastructure and logistics services help key economic regions increase their competitive advantage. Policies to stimulate consumption, support exports and attract foreign investment are still needed to solve long-term problems of the economy. At the same time, it is necessary to continue the policy of reducing interest rates, supporting the reduction of value-added tax and disbursing public investment. Mr. Huynh Phuoc Nghia , Director of the Center for Economics, Law and Management (Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics) Dinh Son (recorded)

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Vietnamese businessmen increasingly assert their position

The Vietnamese business community is increasingly asserting its position in the international market, although still quite modest, but it is a remarkable effort. The common feature of private economic groups and large-scale private enterprises is the ambition to expand their business borders both domestically and internationally. The Vietnamese business community today, with a number approaching 1 million, has greatly contributed to the scale of the economy and the prosperity of the country. I appreciate the resilience of business people in these difficult times. The tradition of eagerness to learn and diligence of the Vietnamese people has been fostered, so that we have more and more young, ambitious and enthusiastic businessmen. Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Manh Quan , Director of the Institute for Enterprise Development Research Ha Mai - Nguyen Nga (recorded)

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Tourism will recover soon

Recently, the tourism industry has received timely attention from the Government, typically the National Assembly passed a new, more open visa policy. Regarding the level of policy competition, I think the current change is okay, just need to study more to improve technical issues, make data processing more convenient, make visa application procedures simpler and easier, especially for MICE groups, cruise ships of up to 2,000 - 3,000 guests/group. The opportunity to gain an advantage in the special period has passed. Now that all activities have returned to normal, the competitive advantage will return to core competencies. That is the convenience of destinations when procedures become easy, flight routes are wide, airfares are cheap. That is good service infrastructure quality, good hotels, affordable prices. It is a diverse product system that meets the rapidly and strongly changing needs of tourists... The North needs to improve services and attitudes, while destinations in the South must invest in products, have shopping centers, casinos, entertainment centers, bars, and discos to serve MICE guests and cruise ship guests... In the past, when guests had deep pockets, their needs for discovery and experience were high, but now they will consider more and consider more factors. The tourism industry needs to look from the perspective of tourists, put in the context of the Southeast Asian region to answer the question: With the same long flight to Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, why do they have to choose Vietnam? For the tourism industry, 2023 is still a year with many difficulties, but in 2024, if the economy recovers, tourism will also develop, starting the upward period of the sine wave graph. The tourism industry's goal is to recover by 2025 to the level of 2019 and I believe we can achieve this goal. Mr. Nguyen Huu Y Yen , Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saigontourist Travel Company Ha Mai - Nguyen Nga (recorded)

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The recovery opportunity of Vietnamese enterprises is very large.

Making money is not easy, but the opportunity for Vietnamese enterprises to recover and accelerate is huge thanks to the Vietnamese brand in the market. Doing business with foreign partners, we see that they increasingly have a favorable view, or more accurately, appreciate the political and social stability of Vietnam. This year, the Vietnamese rice brand "scored" well in the world market, the price is also better and the trust of foreign partners in Vietnamese enterprises in the industry is also higher. That is an advantage that many years ago, when we were diligently exporting raw materials, we did not have.

Mr. Pham Thai Binh , Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company

Ha Mai - Nguyen Nga (written)

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