Ministry of Planning and Investment vows continuous reform for 2017

January 11, 2017 | 12:00

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As the primary advisor to the government, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) will continue improving the business climate in Vietnam through regulations and policies in 2017.

At today’s conference to review the ministry’s performance in 2016 and start the implementation of plans for 2017 in the presence of the prime minister, the ministry announced plans to complete the drafting of and present to the National Assembly the Law on Planning and the Law on Supporting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.

It is also going to present the draft regulations on special economic zones and codify the eco-industrial park and industrial park-township models to be used in 2017.

It will monitor the implementation of laws that it drafted, including the Law on Public Investment and Law on Investment and other legal documents related to the business environment, in order to suggest amendments. It would also increase the use of information technology and complete the database to facilitate advanced planning and macro-economic management.

According to MPI’s report, in 2016, the country faced many challenges, and “notable ones included natural disasters, such as extreme cold weather in northern localities at the beginning of the year, drought and soil salinisation in Mekong Delta localities and Central Vietnam, as well as the Formosa scandal. The old economic model shows many weaknesses.”

Meanwhile, the world economy saw unpredictable developments. Trade growth was lower than expected. The price of oil and other commodities dropped low, negatively affecting economies that rely on the export of commodities, such as Vietnam, according to the report.

During the year, MPI helped foster economic growth in Vietnam through policies that improve the business environment and increase the competitiveness of Vietnamese companies. Examples include Resolution No. 19-2016/NQ-CP issued in April, 2016 on solutions to improve the business environment and increase national competitiveness in 2016 and 2017, and Resolution No. 35/NQ-CP dated May 2016 on supporting companies from now to 2020. The ministry also made decrees to guide the implementation of laws in bidding, public-private partnerships, business registration, foreign direct investment, and encouraging company establishment.

Thanks to these efforts, Vietnam’s Doing Business 2017 ranking rose nine places to the 82th place out of 190 economies, according to the World Bank. The number of newly registered companies is the highest ever, showing the increased confidence of the people.

“The MPI should be the pioneer enabling growth and facilitating breakthroughs, advising the government on how to eliminate the bottlenecks to growth and build the base for macroeconomic stability and for innovations to strengthen the economy,” Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at the conference.

In the near future the Vietnamese economy has to face three major challenges.

First is the middle income trap. In recent years growth has mostly come from capital and labour. The effectiveness of investment is low. The productivity of labour is low, far lower than that of countries in the region. The labour force also has low capacity in industry and service.

Second is climate change and environmental pollution, which demands that the planning process minimise the effect of climate change and make sure the country grow sustainably.

Third is international integration. The Vietnamese economy is very open, thus it is greatly affected by every world development.

Vietnam aims to become a prosperous, modern and democratic society and a responsible member of the international community. This aim is also the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s aim.

Therefore, the ministry is going to strengthen its role as the main strategist to the government and the Communist Party of Vietnam when they make policies to foster Vietnam’s socioeconomic growth.

The ministry is determined to continue reforming the apparatus to create an attractive, competitive and fair investment and business environment and implement breakthrough policies in areas that it is in charge of.

At the event, the PM also awarded former Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh the second-order Independence Medal for his contributions to the country.