Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc speaks at the regular Government meeting on Friday. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc on Friday demanded the Government find solutions to support domestic businesses amid constant policy changes from the world’s biggest economies.

PM Phúc asked his cabinet during the regular Government meeting to stay on guard for “complicated changes” in global affairs to adjust Việt Nam’s economic policies on time, though the country had so far seemed to stay on track.

With positive economic outcomes in January, Phúc said Việt Nam is very likely to reach high economic growth of 6.7 per cent.

However, big economies which Việt Nam has extensive trade with like the US and China, have been altering their economic management mechanisms through adjustments in taxes, tariffs and interest, he said.

“The Government should closely follow those changes to propose better and faster responses, including those in market creation, trade remedies, anti-smuggling and prevention of commercial fraud,” Phúc told his cabinet.

“It is not just about forecasting the moves of other countries but also to work out solutions for Vietnamese enterprises, not to let them sleep on the same bed but have different dreams (with international trade partners).”

Phúc stressed the need to improve the legal framework and policy mechanism for a favourable business environment, adding that 2018 would be a year to cut costs for businesses.

The Government will try to cut interest rates in the first quarter as the earliest, while working to reduce a number of fees, for example transportation and logistics fees.

The Ministry of Transportation, in particular, will have to review infrastructure projects under the controversial Build-Operate-Tranfer (BOT) model to decide a “reasonable toll” for the best interests of the Government, enterprises and the community.

Regarding the emerging cryptocurrency wave in Việt Nam, the PM asked authorities to closely watch the digital currency market following a report claiming Việt Nam ranked fifth in the world in terms of the number of cryptocurrency mining machines.

At the meeting, the Ministry of Planning and Investment proposed a master plan on the sharing economy model, deemed necessary given that it was relatively new in Việt Nam without sufficient legal framework.

Uber and Grab, examples of the sharing economy, recently had Vietnamese authorities confused over how to manage them, with legal loopholes and debates over how to monitor digital companies, particularly in the times of the fourth industrial revolution.

PM Phúc asked the ministry to draft a master plan and submit it to the Government no later than this June. — VNS