Forum spotlights business-press cooperation in time of COVID-19

In his remarks at the event, VCCI Chairman Vu Tien Loc said Vietnam has gone through the early months of 2020 suffering economic toll caused by COVID-19. Many organisations have revised down their forecasts on the country’s economic growth this year and businesses have felt the brunt of the pandemic, he said.

Businesses’ liquidity is declining and workers lose jobs, Loc said. Some 80 percent of apparel producers in Vietnam have been hurt by the pandemic.

The government has, without delay, introduced support packages to help enterprises go through hardship, “which was an outstanding effort,” he further noted, adding that the government is determined to achieve 3 – 4 percent GDP growth this year to sustain people’s livelihoods.

Ho Quang Loi, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association, said Vietnam needs to take full advantage of its successful containment of COVID-19 and soon recover. “It is a big opportunity.”

“At this moment, domestic firms are rebounding with a new spirit,” he said. “Though firms are still struggling, even some are on the verge of collapse, most of them have high hope for bouncing back and thriving again.”

Deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Information and Education Le Manh Hung highlighted the significant role of the press in helping enterprises recover from the crisis.

The press has the mission to reflect and honour the truth, says Ho Quang Loi, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

During the COVID-19 outbreak, news outlets have acted as communicators who make businesses’ voices heard, Hung said, adding that they help the Party and State understand firms’ problems.

He expected that news outlets today will uphold the spirit of the revolutionary press in the past to support firms in developing sustainably in the time of international integration.

Loi also highly spoke of the press’ role and its mutual relations with the businesses in the new context. All news outlets, large or small, are providers of information on the country’s socio-economic activities to the public. If enterprises are pioneers on the economic front, press agencies accompany them on the ideological front, he noted.

In the era of multimedia, anyone can join social networks to share their opinions, so the press has the mission to reflect and honour the truth, Loi stressed, adding that it they must also help the government in executing policies and governing the country.

In fact, the press has acted as a bridge between the state and enterprises, he continued, via news stories, the government and its agencies can learn about businesses’ opinions and thereby improve the effectiveness of its management.

The press must be more responsible for news coverage and news stories must be updated and multidimensional, VCCI Chairman Loc said.

As Vietnam is in economic integration process, economic activities must comply with commitments, therefore the press should work to protect genuine firms, he added.

Information is a matter of life and death to a company, he went on to say, good news stories can help revive a business but bad ones can push it into the abyss.

The forum also saw the launch of the 8th press award on entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship and business environment this year. The competition looks for press works, such as interviews, comments or investigative stories, published on the mass media between October 13, 2019 and September 15, 2020

Each contestant or group of contestants is allowed to submit a maximum of five works. Entries must be sent from July 15 to September 15./.