High stocks of goods and non-performing bad debts remained the main concerns of enterprises, it was reported at a recent online conference.

The July 30 gathering was also told Government support policies were not as effective as expected.

Experts said while positive changes were seen in the economy such as a quarterly growth in GDP , reduction in inventory and increase in the number of new business starts up, policies such as the bad-debt resolution project or the property market support package, were complicated and slow to reach the targeted subjects.

Nguyen Van Phung, deputy director of the Ministry of Finance's Tax Policy Department, argued that tax incentives, such as tax exemption and deferrals, could not satisfy all enterprises.

According to Hoang Van Quyet, director of the Vietnam Financial Investment and Construction Joint Stock Company, administrative procedures should be simplified to facilitate enterprises' operation.

He also urged restructuring the agricultural sector, pointing out that agriculture was the core of the economy, ensuring food security for the country and contributing to exports.

According to economist Nguyen Minh Phong, increasing public investment was necessary to stimulate growth. However, this might only be a good choice in the short term.

He said public investment should be used efficiently to create opportunities for development of the private sector.

Another adviser, Le Dang Doanh, said that purchasing power was at its lowest level in 13 years. He said that interest rate cuts recently reflected efforts by the State Bank of Vietnam to overcome this.

The conference was co-organised by Dien Dan Doanh Nghiep (Enterprise Forum) newspaper and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.-VNA