The biggest challenges businesses are facing

Business production activities. Photo: T.D

The business situation has become more optimistic

According to the IV Board, recently, it has sent a document to the Prime Minister reporting on the business situation as well as assessing the business prospects for the end of 2024 and the first half of 2025.

The survey results conducted by the IV Board in collaboration with VnExpress Online Newspaper show that, compared to the figures of the April 2023 survey, the business situation has become much more optimistic, showing that confidence has been strengthened and enhanced.

Specifically, compared to the April 2023 survey, the proportion of businesses assessing the current macroeconomic situation as "positive/very positive" has increased by five times; the proportion of businesses assessing the industry's economy as "positive/very positive" has increased by four times; the proportion of businesses assessing the macroeconomic outlook for the next 12 months as "positive" has increased by nearly five times; the proportion of businesses assessing the industry's economy as "positive" has increased by four times; the proportion of businesses planning to expand strongly has increased by nearly 2.5 times; the proportion of businesses expanding moderately has increased by 2.7 times.

Other indicators on capital access prospects, market prospects, and assessment of the effectiveness of local government support all have higher rates and scores than the April 2023 survey.

On the contrary, out of a total of 891 enterprises participating in the online survey, 60% of enterprises still assessed the current economic situation as “negative/very negative” compared to the same period; 45 percent assessed the economic outlook for the second half of 2024 and early 2025 as “negative/very negative”.

Regarding internal strength and business expectations, 68.5 percent of enterprises plan to reduce scale, temporarily suspend business or cease business in the next 12 months.

Of which, the rate of enterprises planning to suspend business or wait for dissolution is 9.4 percent; planning to temporarily suspend business is 9.4 percent; expected sharp reduction in scale: 29.2 percent and expected slight reduction in scale: 20.5 percent.

Among the enterprises expected to remain in operation in the second half of 2024, 58.6 percent of them will reduce their workforce by more than 5 percent, of which 14 percent will reduce by more than 50 percent; 62.8 percent of enterprises expect to reduce revenue, of which the rate of revenue reduction by more than 50 percent is 17.3 percent.

Regarding the biggest difficulties and challenges that enterprises face in the second half of 2024 and the first half of 2025, the report shows that these issues are not new but have changed in order, including: orders (56.1 percent); risk of criminalizing economic transactions (47 percent); administrative procedures (44.4 percent); cash flow (37.7 percent); market information (31.7 percent); access to loans (30.8 percent).

Creating an environment to help domestic enterprises grow

According to the IV Board, in the second half of 2024 and the whole year of 2025, there will still be many variables while the internal strength of enterprises, especially the private economic sector, has been eroded by the Covid-19 pandemic, inflation in 2023 and recently the impact of storm No. 3 (Yagi).

Therefore, the determination and timeliness in the direction and management of the Government and the Prime Minister are the most important measures to foster trust among people and businesses and need to be continuously maintained and spread to the grassroots levels to ensure consistency between policies and implementation.

Solutions to reduce cost pressure for people and businesses still need to be focused on designing and promoting implementation. Regarding policy orientation, the Prime Minister should not only focus on large "existing" enterprises but also pay attention to creating a favorable environment to help many domestic enterprises have the ability to rise up and gain a leading position.

Setting up major national problems according to the "ordering" mechanism with the requirement of "linking domestic value chains", along with transparent mechanisms and ensuring fairness, without discrimination between state-owned enterprises and private enterprises is a trend expected by many businesses.

In addition to the Government directing ministries and branches to make efforts to perfect the legal corridor on green economy, circular economy, renewable energy, etc., the IV Board proposed that the Prime Minister direct ministries and branches to promote public-private partnership mechanisms.

At the same time, there are studies and assessments of a number of breakthrough initiatives for Vietnam to transform the economy to green such as: striving to become the region's renewable energy center; developing green industrial - service clusters and encouraging breakthrough industries such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors; researching and developing, producing hydrogen, green ammonia at competitive prices to supply to countries such as China, Japan...