VBF to articulate investors’ big concerns

VBF is a high-profile dialogue between the Vietnamese government and the foreign business communities

At a meeting with forum (VBF) leaders last week, Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh told Alain Cany, VBF Consortium’s co-chairman, that all hot issues and obstructions affecting enterprises’ performance in Vietnam like capital and output market shortages, restructuring of banks and state-owned enterprises, bad debts and inventory would be focused on at the forum.

“In my speech at the forum, I will mention them and call for more sturdy actions from the government, ministries and sectors. It’s high time we took actions to help enterprises,” he said.

The VBF’s 2013 mid-term meeting, themed “New phase of economic reform: From agenda to action,” is set for June 3, 2013 at Sheraton Hotel in Hanoi.

“Enterprises’ business sentiment is strongly declining and many of them don’t want to invest more due to these obstructions,” Cany said. “They are awaiting more strong reforms in Vietnam, which will help them ride out the storm. That’s why the forum has such a striking name.” 

Unlike the previous VBFs, this forum, which will be joined by one deputy prime minister, will almost be focused on Q&A between business associations and leaders from the government and ministries.

Also, before this forum, all questions from business  associations will be sent to the relevant ministries and government, “so that they will not be taken by surprise as they did at the previous VBFs and they can have better responses to the questions,” Cany said.

Among the topics to be discussed with the government are banking and capital markets, investment and trade including tax, land and human resources, and infrastructure including port and shipping sub-group. Reports from working groups covering  education, mining, tourism and automotive will also be delivered at the forum. After these problems are raised, the deputy prime minister and representatives from ministries will respond directly.

“We don’t want to put the government under big pressure, because the government is currently under big pressure from the National Assembly and enterprises in finding good solutions for enterprises,” Cany said.

 “But we want the government to further understand enterprises and take more sturdy actions to help them. Now is the time for the government to do that.”

Vinh repeated that he wanted business associations’ speeches to emphasise important challenges facing enterprises.