PM urges to support investors

Workers at the production chain of an FDI company in northern Phu Tho province’s Thuy Van Industrial Park. Photo: VNA

“Just this morning, I was informed by the head of the Government Office that there was an incident in which a locality needed to make 33 trips to a local construction department to make adjustments to their plan,” he told the meeting.

The PM urged all government offices both on the central and local level to contribute to the nation’s campaign to support investment and development. He said this was the only way for the whole system to move forward, with every single gear moving in the same direction.

The PM said measures must be taken to address a few issues in particular. Several of the country’s ease of doing business indicators could be improved, including starting a business, in which the country ranks 123 out of 190, and resolving insolvency, where it ranks 129 of 190, according to the World Bank’s Doing Business 2019 ranking.

However, he was optimistic about recent reforms to facilitate investment. During the first quarter of 2018, more than 41,000 businesses were registered, with 11,000 making comebacks into the market.

There have been positive reports from the manufacturing, tourism and retail sectors. The country’s total net exports reached $74 billion, an increase of 20 per cent compared to the same period last year. Almost half a million new jobs were created and 38,000 Vietnamese laborers left to work overseas. The economy is stable and inflation is under control with investors and consumers displaying optimism for the near future.

On the other hand, the PM pointed out that a large number of business bore numerous logistics and inspection costs, which must be reduced to support business growth.

“We have the government’s Deputy Chief Inspector here today. I would like to ask him to personally look into incidents in which certain businesses were inspected over and over by different inspector offices. This is a cause for concern for all of us,” said the PM.