On December 4th, 2018, the Annual Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) 2018 was opened in Hanoi with the theme of “VBF - Sharing opportunities in the world of changing trade”. VBF 2018 was co-organized by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation and the VBF Consortium. The Forum acts as a policy dialogue channel between the Government and the business community, aiming at building a facilitating business environment and promoting sustainable economic development in Vietnam.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc attended and delivered a keynote speech at the VBF 2018. The Participants from the line ministries and agencies included Minister, Chairman Mai Tien Dzung of the Government Office, Deputy Governor Nguyen Thi Hong of the State Bank of Vietnam, Minister Nguyen Chi Dzung of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, etc. In addition, the VBF 2018 was also attended by representatives of the Business Associations from many countries and more than 500 domestic and international business representatives.
The VBF 2018 put on the dialogue table three main contents of: (1) Resources for investment in infrastructure; (2) Enhancing knowledge in serving the modern industry; (3) Overcoming the obstacles for businesses. During the first session of the Forum, the Working Groups focused on the assessments of Vietnam's economic situation in 2018. In particular, the Infrastructure Working Group called for the promotion of public-private partnerships. The Electricity and Energy Working Group presented on "Reforming the Direct Power Purchase Agreements (DPPAs) and power purchase contracts with solvency – developing a feasible Power Development Plan VIII (PDP 8).” The Capital Market Working Group raised the issue of "Finance for the market", while the emphasized topic of the Banking Working Group was "High quality credits - an important resource for innovation".
During the second session, the Education Working Group raised the issue of "New skills to meet the requirements of the Industry 4.0." The Agriculture Working Group presented on "Precision agriculture and how to promote agricultural products on the global market". The Tourism Working Group referred to "Tourism services - restaurants - hotels need new approaches".
Finally, overcoming the obstacles for businesses is the third session’s main theme, with the report by the Trade and Investment Working Group on "Strengthening the competitiveness and reducing the burdens of bureaucracy to take advantage of the Free Trade Agreements and other trade opportunities".
In 2019, the business environment in Vietnam will change dramatically with the implementation of the commitments under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) right from the early days of January 2019, followed up by the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which is expected to be concluded in the middle of the year. There will be both opportunities and competitive pressures for Vietnamese businesses right at home. It is forecast that Vietnam will rise to become a leading FDI hub in the future. However, the most important issues now are the institutional reform and the business environment improvement.
At the VBF 2018, representatives of the domestic and international business communities continued to make recommendations in order to promote the business environment and business support. At the end of each session, there were feedbacks from the relevant ministries of the Government of Vietnam.
VA