On February 24, the Party General Secretary chaired a working session with the Central Policy and Strategy Committee on the growth target set for 2025 and emphasized the need to continue institutional reforms and improve the business environment.
Some of the goals are reducing at least 30 percent of administrative procedure processing time, business costs, and informal costs; abolishing at least 30 percent of unnecessary business conditions; and striving for Vietnam's investment environment to be in the top 3 of ASEAN within 2-3 years.
These specific directions seem to stress that the private business sector has been an important driving force for economic growth.
The General Secretary pointed out that the key to creating breakthroughs is the removal of institutional barriers and bottlenecks. Therefore, it needs to quickly improve the investment and business environment; create a favorable legal environment, a transparent, safe, and low-cost business environment; provide comprehensive and flexible policies to support the private business sector; and ensure equality and fairness, allowing private enterprises to access capital and production resources on equal terms with state-owned enterprises and foreign-invested companies.
Since the launch of Resolution No.10-NQ/TW dated June 3, 2017, of the 12th Party Central Committee on developing the private economic sector into an important driving force of the country’s socialist-oriented market economy with the goal of reaching 46.5 percent GDP growth, until now, Resolution 18-NQ/TW of the 12th Party Central Committee on restructuring and streamlining the administrative apparatus, and Resolution 57 on creating breakthroughs in science and technology development, innovation, and digital transformation along with the General Secretary’s above-mentioned practical directives, the private economy is entering the phase of overcoming obstacles to speed up and work towards setting goals. Therefore, it needs a resolution of the Politburo to affirm its role as an important driving force of the country’s socialist-oriented market economy in the 2025-2035 period.
It should be identified that the private economy will operate and develop under the condition of restructuring the public apparatus associated with the integration of digitalization and AI in public management and business to increase labor productivity, reform mechanisms and procedures, and improve the environment, including transforming 50 percent of public services to digital platforms and 80 percent of administrative procedures to online procedures. The private economy will be developed under the conditions of optimizing technology and reforming the public apparatus.
It should immediately focus on the key actions, consisting of simplifying administrative procedures by reducing at least 30 percent of administrative procedure processing time; shortening the time for permit issuance, particularly for investment and land use permits; reducing business registration procedures from 3-5 days to 1-2 days; digitizing permitting processes; applying AI to the Ho Chi Minh City public service portal system to automate document checking and document appraisal, reducing processing time to 1-2 days; and publicizing the process to make it transparent.
In addition, the resolution must specify the building of a one-door mechanism with the model of a Public Administration Center and a Business Support Center using AI to analyze and implement procedures within 24 hours, reducing waiting time by 30 percent to 40 percent compared to the current situation and at least 30 percent of unnecessary business conditions; offering free permit issuance during the first six months of 2025; and abolishing at least 30 percent of non-essential documents.
Additionally, it needs to diversify financial channels and access to capital by reducing business costs by 30 percent to increase the attractiveness for investors and businesses, prioritize the implementation of a credit package of VND20,000-30,000 billion with an interest rate below 5 percent per year, reduce the interest rate on a loan by at least 30 percent compared to the market interest rate of 8 percent -10 percent per year, give priority to small and medium-sized enterprises in the service and tourism sectors, publicize criteria for approval on the electronic portal and list of officials handling the documents, implement electronic monitoring system using AI to monitor loan approval process and permit issuance.
On the other hand, it must stimulate domestic demand by reducing consumption taxes and supporting businesses in accessing the domestic market, carrying out a visa exemption policy to boost domestic and international tourism, and lowering logistics costs at Cat Lai Port and logistics centers by 20 percent to 30 percent.
The direction also focuses on promoting digital transformation and providing training courses for AI applications to improve the business environment and develop Ho Chi Minh City into a high-tech model in the ASEAN region; carrying out free digital transformation programs, such as using AI to provide smart management software for 5,000 businesses; reducing at least 30 percent of operational costs compared to traditional methods; organizing online training courses on digital transformation for 10,000 people; and strengthening digital management skills and online marketing to enhance the competitiveness of businesses.
