The state must be the support and cradle of private economic development.

Private economy becomes the most important driving force for growth

Looking back over time, how do you see the role and position of the private economy changing?

- I am a Vietnamese living in Canada. I returned to Vietnam to invest and do business very early, in 1991. At that time, the shape of our private economy was still very vague. It was not until 1996 that the private economy began to form and develop, but still at a certain level.

In the past, many state-owned enterprises were operating at a loss, and the equitization of state-owned enterprises was still very difficult. However, Vietnam's GDP still grew. That was thanks to private enterprises. During that time, until now, private enterprises have still grown. FDI enterprises in Vietnam are private enterprises, and overseas Vietnamese enterprises investing in Vietnam are also personal channels.

Private enterprises are the main source of employment, accounting for 85% of the total workforce in the economy and providing millions of people with stable income. According to statistics, this sector will create 8.6 million direct jobs in 2023, making an important contribution to reducing unemployment and improving people's living standards.

The private sector is also the driving force in promoting innovation and technology application, digital transformation and high-tech application to optimize business operations. Our country's large private corporations have reached out to the international market, contributing to putting Vietnamese brands on the technology map and participating in the global production chain.

The private sector creates a healthy competitive environment, promoting the improvement of labor productivity and product quality. The labor productivity growth rate of this sector is on average 6 - 8%/year, contributing significantly to the overall development of the economy. Thanks to competition between private enterprises, consumers have more choices, more reasonable prices and constantly improving product quality.

Resources from the private economy are not only in the country but also in more than 128 countries and territories, where more than 6.2 million overseas Vietnamese annually send remittances to Vietnam for relatives and families to invest in building and developing the private economy, with the total amount of money each year higher than the previous year, for example, in 2024 it reached nearly 17 billion USD. In fact, the FDI investment cash flow of overseas Vietnamese investing in Vietnam reached more than 1.87 billion USD in many different areas of the Vietnamese economy. All of these cash flows are essentially the "private economy" that creates a bright, sparkling picture for the Vietnamese economy in recent years.

Can you elaborate on the important role of the private economy?

- When the private economy develops, the surrounding factors become satellites for the private economy to develop together, thereby promoting the diversification of products in society. At that time, the demand for products in society is increasingly higher, the quality is more guaranteed, including environmental sanitation issues, increasing product value...

When economic sectors move forward together, the private economy will become the leading role. Because competition in the private economy is not simply between vegetable sellers but involves many aspects, such as what pesticides are needed for that bunch of vegetables, what varieties are needed, how to preserve them...

Thus, all social issues are developed in a more positive direction and we realize that when the private economy develops, we only need to go to the rural market to see that all the products in the rural market have more value than before. From there, it creates greater competition in society, aiming to better serve people.

Therefore, the Party, State and Government have seen that the private economy is the most important at this time. In the article “Private economic development - a lever for a prosperous Vietnam” on March 17, General Secretary To Lam emphasized that the private economic sector has become one of the most important pillars of the economy and is increasingly showing itself to be the most important driving force to promote national economic growth.

Need to immediately remove barriers, unleash the power of the private economy

However, the development of the private economic sector is still facing many barriers. How do you view this issue?

- Although the Vietnamese private economic sector currently contributes over 50% of GDP, about 30% of state budget revenue, attracts about 85% of the workforce, and plays a role as the main growth engine of the economy, it is still facing many major barriers and obstacles. This can be considered the time when it is necessary to remove barriers and unleash the strength of this important economic sector.

Many private enterprises are ready to accept the tasks assigned by the Party and State.

For example, in Vietnam, private enterprises that want to survive and develop must have some level of “connection”. This is the most dangerous problem. That is why any private enterprise that can grow and develop is always questioned “whose backyard is it?”, which also discourages the enterprises that want to grow.

Another important issue is that our laws are always being adjusted, sometimes there are many loopholes, the inspection agencies look into it, from there also makes private enterprises hesitate to develop and do not dare to develop. It is possible that an enterprise actually has thousands of billions of VND but only registers on the business license 100 billion to avoid troubles. It is also possible that there are enterprises with only a few billion VND but register up to tens of thousands of billions. That is also the problem being raised. The regulations on business licenses in Vietnam are very different from the regulations on business licenses in foreign countries. In foreign countries, enterprises do not need to register a large amount of capital, sometimes only 1 USD but they have hundreds of billions of USD. That is the problem we should learn.

Our country is developing and growing. In the era of national growth, we must learn from the world's best practices. Vietnam's market has only 100 million people, very small compared to the world's population of nearly 8 billion. Therefore, we must reach out, our goods must go abroad. To do so, we must have large enterprises. The government must be a support, must support enterprises to develop. We cannot let public opinion in society "talk back and forth" about the issue of "backyard, front yard".

In addition, for entrepreneurs and businesses to serve and devote themselves to the Fatherland, they must be supported and respected. Private businesses must have the support of consumers, not just government policies.

Creating a transparent, equal and favorable business environment

So, in your opinion, what is the solution to make the private economic sector the most important driving force to promote national economic growth?

- General Secretary To Lam, the Prime Minister and the ministries and sectors are carrying out an unprecedented revolution. This revolution will be successful if our 100 million people and 6.2 million overseas Vietnamese are united, and I believe that everyone will be united because this is for the prosperity of the country. No one does not want prosperity, and if we want prosperity, we must have a revolution. We must support each other. If there is a revolution in enlightenment, we will succeed.

I think that the policy of institutional reform and streamlining the Party apparatus is being implemented by the Government resolutely "fast - strong - lightning speed" with the participation of the whole society, so there is no reason why we cannot identify the resources of society, the resources of the entire people and the resources of private enterprises - the subjects that have been joining hands and unanimously developing the country to achieve high rankings in the international arena. Never, never has the implementation been as smooth as it is now for Vietnam because the Party, the Government, the National Assembly, and the Vietnam Fatherland Front have identified what needs to be done, must be done immediately, and do not allow any delay or backward thinking.

The State must be the support and the cradle. When private enterprise projects are highly appreciated by specialized and professional agencies, the State must provide resources and finance for enterprises to access all sources of capital from the budget and can eliminate "criminal" regulations when projects are unsuccessful, but not negatively, not for personal gain.

It is necessary to trust and create a transparent, equal and favorable business environment for private enterprises, regardless of whether they are large enterprises, small and medium enterprises or household businesses. Branded private enterprises need to be equal to each other because developed countries highly value small and medium private enterprises. Private enterprises must become and be the driving force for economic development and social security.

Thank you very much!

Khue An (performed)