Despite the rising number of private firms in Vietnam in the 2002-2012 period, their operation scale, workforce and capitalisation were all narrowed down, seen in their share in the national gross domestic product (GDP) shrinking from 15.5 percent in 2002 to only 11 percent in 2012, according to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)
Senior economist Pham Chi Lan, who used to serve as a vice chairwoman of VCCI, asserted the private sector's dwindling operations at a meeting with local media organised by the Business, Studies and Assistance centre (BSA) on Tuesday.
During the talks, Lan shared the knowledge she had gained from a fieldtrip with a research group of Vietnam Academy for Social Sciences to take comments from private businesses in HCM City, Binh Duong, Can Tho and An Giang.
A study by VCCI shows revenues, competitiveness, and confidence of private enterprises all declined. Particularly, less than 30 percent of them last year weighed expansion schemes.
The number of newly-registered companies was nearly 50,000 – 60,000 but as many as 40,000 – 50,000 ones shut down business within 2012 alone.
Concerning the legal system, many companies complained about the ambiguous law and unstable business environment, Lan said.
Although enterprises appreciated efforts by governmental agencies in revising and enacting new laws, they have not had faith in those legal documents that are described as unfeasible, complicated and troublesome. The overlapping rules and regulations also cause a lot of troubles to corporate operations.
Lan quoted remarks by economist Nguyen Ngoc Bich, saying that lawmakers have the mindset of politicians and do not understand business in general and private business in particular.
Policymakers in many instances do not see shortcomings in law enforcement but only take advantage of their power to put pressure on enterprises.
Lan also mentioned another obstacle concerning the State policies decried as unsynchronised and impractical. For example, certain State bodies encouraged export at any rate despite little profits or even losses while leaving the domestic market dominated by foreign companies.
It is difficult for state-owned, private and foreign direct investment companies to work together due to the lack of a common link while in many foreign countries, all the big, medium and small companies are all connected together, Lan added.
Saigon Times Daily
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