Improving the competitiveness of businesses is an important factor

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Speakers shared about the competitiveness of provincial-level enterprises at the Forum. Photo: T.D

That is the information given at the "Provincial Business Competitiveness Forum 2024" organized by Saigon Business Magazine in collaboration with the Vietnam Innovation Institute and Nguyen Tat Thanh University on July 9.

According to experts, businesses make important contributions to gross domestic product (GDP), creating jobs for people and budget revenue for the State.

Mr. Vo Tan Thanh, Vice President of the Vietnam Confederation of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said that in recent years, together with the Central Government, localities have had many policies and solutions to improve the investment environment, create favorable conditions for economic sectors to develop, and support the role of business forces and entrepreneurs.

Localities across the country have improved administrative procedures and reduced unofficial costs. A favorable business environment will help businesses develop and attract new investors to enter the market. From there, creating many jobs, contributing to the country's socio-economic development, as well as improving local and national competitiveness.

Improving local competitiveness does not stop at improving the quality of local governance and investment environment, but must focus on improving the competitiveness of local businesses, Mr. Thanh said.

Sharing at the forum, Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee emphasized that the sustainable development of Ho Chi Minh City depends on the ability to create added value as well as the competitiveness of the business force.

In recent years, Ho Chi Minh City has had many policies and solutions to improve the investment environment, create favorable conditions for economic sectors to develop, support and promote the role of the business force and entrepreneurial team, thereby improving the City's competitiveness.

However, according to the report analyzing Ho Chi Minh City's business competitiveness, by 2023, it shows that although Ho Chi Minh City still leads the country in absolute value in many indicators, the scale and performance of the business force In particular, the general economic results of Ho Chi Minh City are going down relatively compared to the national average.

Meanwhile, in some other localities there has been an overall acceleration and has surpassed Ho Chi Minh City in some areas. In addition, compared to central urban areas in East Asia and Southeast Asia, the competitiveness of the city's business force, especially leading businesses, is quite modest. Businesses in particular and the economy in general of Ho Chi Minh City have not yet been able to close the gap with leading cities in the region.

Dr. Huynh The Du, a lecturer at Indiana University in the United States and a member of the Vietnam Innovation Institute, said that Ho Chi Minh City's growth rate is slowing down compared to the national average. The "health" of businesses is also worrying. For example, Ho Chi Minh City has only one business in the 10 largest tax paying enterprises in the country by 2022; there is no business in the 10 largest enterprises. Best in Vietnam according to the ranking of Vietnam Assessment Report Joint Stock Company (VNR500)...

"The reason why the competitiveness of Ho Chi Minh City businesses has decreased in both "quality" and "quantity" comes from all factors, including: The operating strategy of the business force itself is not clear and operations are still ineffective; The level of industry cluster development is still quite modest, lacking connectivity and reciprocity; Although the business environment has improved, it is still far from business expectations...", Dr. Huynh The Du emphasized.

Since then, many business opinions at the forum said that to improve the capacity of businesses, there needs to be a truly fair competitive environment, without group interests. Mr. Dinh Hong Ky, Chairman of SECOIN Company recommended that Ho Chi Minh City should pay more attention to developing technical infrastructure and transportation infrastructure connecting economic centers and gateways with provinces and cities in the region; Improving the quality of higher education associated with human resource development, creating favorable conditions for businesses in recruitment. More importantly, the city needs to spend reasonable budget resources to build green infrastructure, digital infrastructure, especially shared digital data for businesses. Businesses need to increase their proactiveness and internal resources to keep up with new development trends.

Ms. Ly Kim Chi, Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City Food Association, said that in terms of competitiveness of Ho Chi Minh City businesses, currently high logistics costs are one of the major problems that reduce the competitiveness of businesses, although Ho Chi Minh City has advantages in geography and transportation infrastructure. Ho Chi Minh City needs to improve logistics infrastructure and administrative reform to better support businesses. In terms of policy, Ho Chi Minh City needs to improve to better support businesses. Policy promulgation requires input from businesses to ensure feasibility and effectiveness.