Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Businesses expect to see quicker actions from statemanagement agencies in the enforcement of the Government’s Resolutions No 19and 35 to boost reforms and promote business development.
Thisneed was highlighted at the launch event for the report on the implementationof the resolutions from the view of businesses, held by the Vietnam Chamber ofCommerce and Industry (VCCI) on November 20 in Hanoi.
"Morethan anyone, businesses have felt the results and efficiency of reforms overthe past few years,” VCCI Chairman Vu Tien Loc said. “They understand best howchanges in the business environment affect their operations. The satisfactionof enterprises is the most important measure for the success of reforms.”
TheVCCI survey, which was conducted on some 10,000 private firms, found that thecompanies saw significant improvements in the business climate in recent years.However, the level of improvement remained uneven across different sectors andlocalities.
Locsaid the space for reforms remained large, adding more efforts were needed forthe State management agencies and local authorities to boost efficiency andbenefit enterprises.
Locsaid the report would serve as a reference for the evaluation of theGovernment’s Resolution 19 about improving the business environment andnational competitiveness and Resolution 35 about business development for thecompilation of new resolutions.
Accordingto Dau Anh Tuan, Head of VCCI’s Legal Department, surveyed businesses felt thatstarting a business and getting electricity were the two areas that saw themost improvements. However, trading across borders, protecting investors andresolving insolvency did not improve much.
Thederegulation of business conditions, an important task in Resolution 19, wasstill far below the goal, although Ministry of Planning and Investmentstatistics showed that as of October 15, decrees about deregulation of businessprerequisites had been issued, Tuan said.
Theapplication for sub-licences remained difficult, he said, citing the report’sfinding that 42 percent said that they met difficulties when applying for theselicences.
Itwas necessary to have an independent organisation to evaluate the progress ofderegulation and the level of transparency in applying business prerequisites, Tuansaid.
TheVCCI survey also found the procedures for registering a property lackedco-ordination between relevant agencies, such as land management agencies, taxagencies and notary offices. In some provinces, databases of these agencies hadnot been linked to each other.
Tuanadded that reforms in import inspections had also progressed slowly. As ofSeptember, 68 procedures were conducted via the national single window, out of284 targeted by 2020. To date, only one was conducted completely electronicallywhile others still required hard copies.
Tuansaid firms complained that they were inspected more than once per year, citingstatistics of the 2017 provincial competitive index report that said nearly 40 percentof firms were inspected at least two times per year and 13 percent saw overlapsin the inspections of different groups.
“Manyreforms are introduced but it is a long road before they truly benefitbusinesses,” Tuan said.
NguyenDinh Cung, Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM),said an independent organisation to review the issuance of legal documentsshould be set up, which would play important role in improving the businessclimate.-VNS/VNA