Many experts said that interest rates in Vietnam are currently too high, so it is necessary to reduce them to support people and enterprises to recover and develop production and business activities.
After SGGP newspaper published a series of articles titled "High interest rates weaken the economy", economists and the business community contributed their opinions on this issue.
All throughout 2022, Vietnamese enterprises faced endless frustration and disappointment in trying to access loans with preferential interest rates and exhausted their attempts to seek extension of support policies such as for VAT reduction.
To support enterprises to overcome difficulties as well as accelerate development, there should be synchronous support of many policies, said Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Union of Business Association, Nguyen Ngoc Hoa.
The People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City held a seminar to collect opinions on the Project on Orientation for the Development of Export Processing Zones and Industrial Parks (EPZs-IPs) in HCMC in the 2025-2030 period and a vision to 2040 on August 11.
It was recorded that, on the last two days of the week in Ho Chi Minh City, the number of people flocking to traditional markets, supermarkets, and trade centers increased sharply. Essential consumer goods, such as cooking oil, rice, eggs, fish, and meat, were consumed well, but prices did not hike unexpectedly.
Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai, on May 20, signed Decree No.31/2022/ND-CP on interest rate support from the State budget for loans to enterprises, cooperatives, and business households.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, on the afternoon of April 22, chaired a conference on developing a safe, transparent, efficient, and sustainable capital market to stabilize the macro-economy and ensure major balances of the economy.
Ho Chi Minh City is going to apply the new fee for the use of the infrastructure and public utility services at border gates and seaports in the city from this April 1. Many businesses have shown the inappropriateness of this new rate and the fee division method to Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper.
The costs of petrol, logistics, imported materials, and labor have simultaneously increased, putting more burden on the production activities of enterprises. In this context, authorities need to synchronously deploy many solutions to reduce the pressure of price hikes, maintain the purchasing power of the market, and support the operation of enterprises.
Many enterprises now believe that F0s and F1s can go to work to help employees feel comfortable and help enterprises have enough workers to maintain production and business activities. The fact that F0s and F1s keep working is also appropriate in the context of fully reopening from March 15 and heading to consider Covid-19 as an endemic disease.
Deposit interest rates have just been simultaneously raised by commercial banks and are expected to increase further to prepare cash flows in the context that the whole country has returned to a new normal state, and production and business activities have been restored.
Many businesses expressed concern that increasing gasoline prices might lead to an increase in raw material prices, making it difficult for businesses to maintain production stability.
To support enterprises to restore production and business activities, in 2022, departments, industries, and localities of Ho Chi Minh City will implement many solutions to improve the investment and business environment, promptly remove difficulties to accompany enterprises.
According to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan, the consumer demand of the world market is changing, so it is impossible to continue to produce in small scale but cooperation is needed. Therefore, departments of agriculture and rural development in cities and provinces need to connect farmers with businesses.
Unlike previous years, manufacturing enterprises do not have much time to prepare for the Lunar New Year because all of them have just gone through a difficult period due to the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic. However, with positive signals of the market, enterprises are striving to increase output, as well as implement safe production solutions, so that the progress of supplying goods to the market for the Tet holiday will not be affected.
Domestic and international enterprises often launch many promotions to stimulate demand for a company's goods or services. This is also an opportunity for businesses to resume production, but because they have operated for more than four months of social distancing plus many incurred costs related to safety and prevention of epidemics, businesses are short of working capital.
The transportation sector has been seriously affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, with high gasoline prices, most transport enterprises suffer more difficulties.
From November, Ho Chi Minh City-based enterprises have officially applied electronic invoices (e-invoices) following new regulations. Many businesses worried whether the e-invoices would be complicated, increase costs, or congest the network? These concerns have been thoroughly answered by tax authorities, and businesses will also receive additional benefits when applying technology in management.
After the fourth Covid-19 pandemic, more than 1.3 million workers have returned to work in Ho Chi Minh City. Many enterprises have been urgently recruiting workers to resume operations in the new normal period and prepare orders for the Lunar New Year. The labor market is vibrant in the unskilled, mid-level, and senior labor segments.