Business must be at the center of the goal for sustainable development

Dr. Vu Tien Loc, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vietnam

The professional operation at the Customs Sub-Department managing the investment-processing goods (the Customs Department of Hanoi). Photo: N.Linh.

How do you assess Vietnam's position relative to other countries in the region in terms of competitiveness as well as the improvement of the business environment for businesses?

According to the recently published PCI 2017 Provincial Competitiveness Report, although Vietnam's investment and business environment has been remarkably improved, there are still many points that we are not satisfied with. In comparison with the leading economies of ASEAN, Vietnam still has a long way to go. In terms of competitiveness, if we want to rank 4th among the top four economies in the region today, there is still a long way to go. Specifically, the fourth economy is currently ranked 36th in the world, while Vietnam now ranks 55th, which is 21st. Vietnam is catching up with the economy ranked fourth in the four economies in the region today. And that shows that Vietnam needs to make great strides to catch up with ASEAN's leading economies in terms of institutions, business environment and competitiveness.

The government has taken a lot of action to promote competitiveness and the business environment by setting expectations for rankings and assigning specific tasks to local ministries and sectors. In that, the determination of the target of the ministries and local branches must be measured by the international ranking, so we must find solutions to achieve this goal.

It can be said, together with the pressure of improvement from the Government, it is from the ministries and sectors that will help promote institutional reform, improve the business environment and enhance the national competitiveness of Vietnam. In particular, enhancing national competitiveness has been set by the Government in the issuance of Resolutions 19. For the industrial revolution 4.0, the Prime Minister also issued Directive 16 on capacity building approaching the industrial revolution 4.0.

Thus, we are putting Vietnam's development in a global context and aiming at a global position in which the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are considered to be the foundation. Thereby, we base this program on Vietnam's program of action to achieve these goals.

In that way, enterprises themselves must be aware of, and have a strategy for sustainable development. What do you think about the sustainable development of enterprises in Vietnam today?

In enhancing competitiveness, the business community must play an important role, even as the center of the goal of sustainable development and enhancing national competitiveness. We are not afraid of small scale; we just fear that we do not meet standards. If not towards the sustainable development model, it cannot integrate. Vietnam's economy is still far away from global businesses, but in terms of standards, I expect businesses to move towards higher standards.

In the recent PCI survey, we have research on the quality of corporate governance. In correlation with other countries in the region, the quality of corporate governance of Vietnamese enterprises is relatively low, requiring greater efforts from enterprises to reach the standards of public governance. It must be able to change the business management model of the enterprise towards the goal of sustainable development. And with this in mind, based on the Global Business Committee's Sustainable Business Indicators, we have documented a set of sustainable business development indicators for Vietnamese enterprises. Specifically, this indicator was designed under the style that is suitable for the reality of Vietnamese enterprises; it is not only suitable for large enterprises but also small and medium enterprises. .

And we are very happy that the hundreds of businesses that have participated in this index have been willing to "measure" themselves in accordance with the standards of sustainable development. At present, we are preparing to deploy widely in all local enterprises and at all sizes, including small and medium enterprises which reach the set of sustainable business development indicators, restructuring to ensure the implementation of these indicators to improve competitiveness.

How do you assess and set goals for sustainable development of small and medium enterprises for the future?

First of all, it must be said that the main driving force in the development of the world economy today and in the future will continue to be small and medium enterprises as it is the most active and dynamic sector in the context the world is full of fluctuation. All sustainable development goals obtained consist of the role of business. Therefore, Vietnam's policy must aim to create the most favorable business environment for the sustainable development of small and medium enterprises.

First of all, we need to create an equal business environment so that small and medium enterprises can be equal in accessing resources like large businesses. Second, support programs for credit, technology and governance should be developed for small and medium enterprises. It is important not only for government agencies but also for the role of business associations, international organizations and businesses themselves. We are still talking about the global economy in the new context as the linkage economy in the value chain and the role of large enterprises as the dominant role. Top-ranking enterprises in the value chain are responsible for coordinating with government associations and agencies to support the upgrading of small and medium enterprises, and to facilitate small and medium enterprises participating in the process of globalization, it is a very important direction.

Thank you Sir!