The Vietnam Business Summit 2020 is held on the sidelines of the virtual 37th ASEAN Summit and related meetings (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The Vietnam Business Summit(VBS) 2020, the largest annual trade and investment promotion event in thecountry, opened in Hanoi on November 12.
Held on the sidelines of the on-going virtual 37th ASEAN Summit and related Summits with the slogan “Vietnam - We Mean Business”,the summit offers a chance for policymakers and leaders of localities to introduceincentives to attract investment.
It is also an effective forum for company leaders toshare their experience in international trade, shape future cooperation, and discussnew opportunities in the digital era.
Addressing the event, Deputy Prime Minister Truong HoaBinh said Vietnam will support the development of digital and ICTinfrastructure as well as high-quality human resources, so as to increase the digitaleconomy’s proportion of GDP to 20 percent in 2025.
He said the Government will prioritise the developmentof projects to expand infrastructure networks in terms of number, quality, andsynchronicity.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerceand Industry (VCCI) Vu Tien Loc said logistics will be key for Vietnam to enterglobal value chains.
He noted that Vietnam’s logistics sector is currentlya bottleneck blocking development as logistics costs are the highest in theregion and among the highest in the world.
Cooperation in high-tech agriculture is also helping boostthe production and quality of farm produce, he noted, emphasising the need forpromoting the application of science and technology in the field which he saidwould help boost the export of products.
Dinh Thi Quynh Van, General Director of PwC Vietnam, saidVietnam is one of only a few countries posting positive economic growth thisyear amid COVID-19 and has targeted growth of about 6 percent next year.
She said that without the support of the Government, thepandemic could result in high unemployment and the collapse of a number ofsectors.
Underlining that small businesses are among the hardest-hitgroups, she said that in order to adapt to the “new normal” they need tooperate in a more sustainable manner and restructure in the future.
High-quality human resources will be the main driverof the long-term growth of enterprises, she believes.
Touching on solutions to enhance the competitivenessof local businesses, especially in the context of digital transformation, DoHuy Binh, Director of the Smartlog company, said Vietnam is only in the firststage of building a foundation for digital transformation, and businesses ingeneral are yet to approach and apply technology in an active manner.
COVID-19, however, has encouraged them to speed up theprocess, he went on, adding that local firms, mostly small businesses, hold moreadvantages in applying science and technology in a quicker manner.
Initiated in 2017, the VBS gathers together thousandsof domestic and foreign investors and has become one of the most anticipatedannual events for the investor community./.
VNA
