VIETNAM will continue to hasten efforts to improve the business climate in terms of quality to create favourable conditions for the private sector to play its role as a driver in promoting rapid and sustainable economic growth.

The country has targeted to have one million firms by next year, of which, there would be a lot of large private corporations who were arising strongly in both domestic and international markets in key sectors like manufacturing, aviation, finance and banking, agriculture and telecommunications.

According to Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics’ Nguyen Xuan Thang, the private sector is still facing difficulties in accessing resources, market opportunities and advanced technologies.

Vietjet president and CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao said at the Vietnam Economic Forum 2019 that Vietnam in recent years had sent a strong message about building a constructive government with open mechanisms for the private sector.

However, Thao said it was necessary to speed up the privatisation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and the restructuring of the banking sector to minimise the negative impacts on macro-finance and growth prospects.

Thao also urged the government to develop mechanisms and policies to exploit resources of the private sector for infrastructure development and enable them to grasp opportunities from Industry 4.0 to enhance productivity.

The private sector should be encouraged to participate in what they could do well, Thao said, stressing that private firms expected to have a fair playground with other economic sectors.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in a dialogue at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the private economic sector was an important driver for growth in Vietnam amid an anticipated slow-down of the global economy.

Phuc added that attracting foreign direct investment together with enhancing linkage with the domestic sector also played a significant role in promoting economic development.

According to World Bank Vietnam Country Director Ousmane Dione, Vietnam faces a significant opportunity in upgrading its domestic value contribution to capture the benefits of FDI inflows and global value chains.

This requires enhancing links with the domestic economy, he stressed.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Vu Dai Thang said the goal of having one million firms by next year was within reach, given the efforts of improving the business climate.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment recently made public a draft law to amend the Law on Investment and the Law on Enterprise, which aimed to create favourable conditions for the businesses and private sector to develop.

Vietnam set goal of increasing the contribution of the private sector to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to 50 per cent by next year, 55 per cent by 2025 and 60-65 per cent by 2030.

Every year, the private sector generated 1.2 million jobs and contributed 43 per cent to GDP. VIET NAM NEWS/ANN