Concerns about the "health" of the business

According to the General Statistics Office, in the first 6 months of 2023, the whole country had 60.2 thousand enterprises temporarily suspending business; 31 thousand enterprises stopped operating pending dissolution procedures, up 28.9% over the same period; 8.8 thousand enterprises completed dissolution procedures, up 2.8%... This is a worrying indicator of the health of enterprises when there are only more than 5 months left until the end of 2023.

Quan ngại về 'sức khỏe' của doanh nghiệp

The first 6 months of the year have shown worrying signs about the health of businesses, with just over 5 months left until the end of 2023. (Source: Today's Rural Newspaper)

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hiep, representative of the Vietnam Association of Construction Contractors, reflected that many businesses in the industry are exhausted and unable to withstand the context of a sharp and prolonged decline in domestic and international market demand. Behind each business that closes or ceases operations are a series of workers who have lost their jobs, have reduced income, and affect social security.

While the business community and people are facing difficulties, the need to create a favorable and transparent business environment for businesses is becoming more urgent. However, there are still legal overlaps, especially in the construction industry or the phenomenon of business conditions hiding under technical standards and regulations, affecting the development of the Vietnamese business community.

For example, to implement a real estate project, a business needs up to 40 approval stamps from ministries and branches. Fast businesses can complete the project in 2.5 years, while slow businesses can take 5-10 years to complete the project procedures. Each locality has a different concept of real estate project investment procedures because the legal documents are not clear, and anyone can understand them however they want, Mr. Hiep cited.

Along with that, there is still a phenomenon of a number of cadres and civil servants avoiding and pushing work, fearing mistakes and responsibilities, not making decisions on work within their authority, pushing businesses into increasingly difficult situations. That causes many projects to be prolonged, causing loss and waste, and businesses to lose investment opportunities.

Sharing the same view, Dr. To Hoai Nam, General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, said that currently, Vietnamese enterprises, especially small and medium enterprises, have three persistent difficulties.

These are lack of capital; ability to access and apply science and technology; production premises and administrative procedures. However, reforming administrative procedures and implementing institutional reforms are also facing many challenges.

Specifically, reducing compliance costs from current regulations; worrying about new costs arising from regulations being drafted and issued such as recycling rates, increased excise tax...; global policies that increase business costs such as carbon tax or countries in the region are making efforts to improve the business investment environment to reduce compliance costs, increase competitive advantage... This is an issue that needs to be researched to propose comprehensive and urgent solutions, meeting the requirements of current practice.

Dr. Tran Thi Hong Minh, Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), informed that data from the General Statistics Office in the first 6 months of the year showed that the consumer price index increased by only 2.68% compared to the same period in 2022; asset accumulation increased by 1.15%... To overcome difficulties and expand economic space for businesses in the coming time, fundamental and long-term policies are needed.

“Previously, the National Assembly voted to pass the Law amending and supplementing 8 laws that have a major impact on the socio-economy, including: the Law on Public Investment, the Law on Investment under the Public-Private Partnership model, the Investment Law, the Law on Bidding, the Electricity Law, the Enterprise Law, the Law on Special Consumption Tax and the Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement. This is a huge step forward, but in reality, there are still many overlapping issues regarding land, environment and construction, hindering business operations.

Therefore, it is necessary to continue reviewing and amending institutions to propose amendments and improvements to avoid overlap. Laws are the cradle, the framework, the backbone of the economy. If there is overlap, the operation process will cause difficulties for business operations...", Ms. Minh analyzed.

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