Business ease urged by government

Vietnam’s new government has set concrete targets for supporting enterprises and investors via cutting and trimming business conditions as part of its efforts to reach high economic growth.

- By Khoi Nguyen

Last week, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung was reported by ministries that there are almost 200 conditional business lines and over 4,600 business conditions in Vietnam, many of which are unnecessary and tormenting the business community.

Conclusion No.18-KL/TW, issued at the second plenum of the 14" Party Central Committee in late March, has required ministries and agencies to continue reviewing and cutting a further 30 per cent of existing conditional business lines (equivalent to roughly 60 lines), while eliminating all unnecessary business conditions. At the same time, implementation time and compliance costs for administrative procedures (APs) have to be halved each, with ministerial-level bodies handling no more than 30 per cent of the total number of APs within their management scope.

Prime Minister Hung stressed the urgent need for immediate action, particularly with regard to the task groups outlined in Conclusion 18.

“Tt clearly identifies task groups aimed at achieving double-digit growth, including those contributing to improvements in the business environment and reductions in time and compliance costs for the public and enterprises,” PM Hung stated.

“Though Conclusion 18 sets a deadline for implementation in this year’s second quarter, ministries and agencies must act with urgency, completing tasks as early as possible while ensuring effectiveness, quality, substance, and adherence to schedule,” the PM said.