Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính (bottom row, centre) meets with business leaders in Hà Nội on the occasion of Viet Nam Entrepreneurs' Day (October 13). — VNA Photo

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính congratulated and sent his best regards to all Vietnamese entrepreneurs to mark Viet Nam Entrepreneurs' Day (October 13) during a meeting in Hà Nội yesterday. 

The government leader said this year Việt Nam Entrepreneurs' Day took place during a particularly difficult time as the novel coronavirus had been ravaging the country's economic activities, especially in HCM City and southern provinces such as Bình Dương, Đồng Nai and Long An.

With great determination, local governments and communities had been able to put the virus under control. This was in no small part thanks to the business community, said the PM.

"I'd like to extend my gratitude to all Vietnamese entrepreneurs, business organisations and associations," said PM Chính.

He stressed the Government's recognition and appreciation of Vietnamese entrepreneurs' contribution to Việt Nam's national building and socio-economic development over the years. The PM said the government had always been receptive to feedback and ideas and stood willing to fully support the business community.

Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry Phạm Tấn Công said entrepreneurs across the country lauded the Government's effort to contain the virus and the implementation of numerous policies to support the economy. 

Công said the policies had allowed businesses to maintain operations while at the same time protect the country's workforce and the community. 

"It will be a long and difficult road for businesses to recover from the pandemic. The business community urged the Government to implement additional support policies for the long term and continue to push for greater administrative reforms, to level the playing field for all and to improve efficiency and transparency," Công said. 

The business community called for the Government to quickly establish a comprehensive national programme to support economic recovery in all localities, he said. 

Chairwoman of BRG Group and vice-president of the Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank) Nguyễn Thị Nga called for national unity and joint efforts in the fight against the virus and towards economic recovery.  

President of CMC Corporation Nguyễn Trung Chính said the IT sector understood the challenges and opportunities presented by the pandemic and the importance of the country's digital transformation in a post-pandemic world. 

President of the Vietnam Association For Women Entrepreneurs Thái Hương said the Government should continue to listen and gather feedback and opinions from the business community and to learn from working models to effectively contain the virus. 

Hương said given the number of issues that had been hampering economic activities addressed by the Government during August and September, the business sector had been positive about the country's ability to achieve 3 per cent GDP growth by the end of the year. 

Chairman and CEO of T&T Group Đỗ Quang Hiển said Vietnamese entrepreneurs welcomed the Government support and many of its sound policies to speed up economic recovery during the pandemic. 

"The Vietnamese business community stays committed to the pursuit of innovation and socio-economic development in the new normal," he said. 

CEO of Vingroup Nguyễn Việt Quang said the group had been making progress in technology transfer and production in cooperation leading COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers from the US. 

At the event, business leaders called for the Government to start relaxing social distancing rules and allow more businesses to resume operations, to provide more support for vulnerable groups including female workers and the disabled, who were disproportionately affected by the pandemic. 

They also urged the banking sector to stand with businesses to give them more time to rebuild and to lessen their financial burdens with reduced interest rates and extended credit.   

Deputy minister of finance Trần Xuân Hà said at the event the Government would allocate a fund of VNĐ138 trillion (US$6 billion) in support of businesses from now until the end of the year, mainly in the forms of tax cuts and fee reductions. Additional funding had also been secured to purchase vaccines and medical supplies and in emergency aid to areas that had been hit hard by COVID-19. 

Hà said protecting the country's supply chain remained among the highest priorities for the Government. Measures would be taken to stimulate domestic demand for goods and services. 

The PM said the country's COVID-19 strategy was to carefully and flexibly reopen its economy while improving on virus containment, tracking and testing. He said in the near future Việt Nam would speed up vaccinating the population, with priority given to frontline workers, the elderly and the labour force.

President lauds young entrepreneurs

President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc met with representatives from over 10,000 businesses of the Vietnam Young Entrepreneurs Association (VYEA) in HCM City. 

The President lauded young Vietnamese entrepreneurs for their contribution to the country's socio-economic development in recent years and for relief efforts for vulnerable groups in areas hit hard by the virus. 

He urged the young entrepreneurs to remain steadfast in their commitment to nation building and to take the initiative to overcome the numerous obstacles raised by the pandemic.— VNS