Start-ups showcase their products at a fair in HCM City. The city has a number of programmes to attract young people seeking to set up business. — VNS Photo

HCM CITY — HCM City is implementing programmes meant to create a launch pad for start-ups and offer favourable conditions for new companies to develop.

According to the city People's Committee, more than 44,000 new businesses were established last year and their registered capital was 15 per cent higher than in 2018.

This year, the city targets a number of more than 45,000, especially businesses set up by young people aspiring to contribute to the city’s development.

The city government has carried out programmes in recent years to create favourable conditions for start-ups to develop.

It has made efforts to improve the business environment, build an innovative start-up eco-system to create the best conditions for start-ups and ensure equal access for all businesses to resources and opportunities.

In terms of capital access, the city has allocated VNĐ1 trillion (US$43.06 million) from its budget to support start-ups, including support for business households to turn into companies.

It also has an investment stimulus package worth VNĐ2 trillion ($86.18 million) to encourage businesses to upgrade their production technologies.

The HCM City Start-up Investment Fund founded by the Việt Nam Youth Federation – HCM City, the HCM City Finance and Investment Company and others also offers excellent support to start-ups.

A 2016-20 programme seeks to help small- and medium-sized enterprises improve their competitiveness to better integrate into the global economy as part of the city’s target to become a fertile ground for creative start-ups.

Funding is usually the biggest hurdle for start-ups, and so the city would seek to connect them with banks, credit institutions and domestic and foreign investment funds, the Department of Planning and Investment said.

Nguyễn Thành Phong, chairman of the city People’s Committee, said among the city’s key tasks in 2020 are improving the quality of growth and competitiveness of its economy and increasing the number of new enterprises, with priority given to those using technology and creating value addition.

So it would continue to strongly improve the investment environment to make it more open and transparent, he said.

With its open and transparent policies, the city expects to attract more new start-ups in various sectors this year to help realise its socio-economic goals, he added.

Vũ Anh Tuấn, director of the Quang Trung Software Business Incubator, said: “New businesses are getting better in terms of both size and quality. Many creative ideas have met the demands of the city and its people. A lot of them have been realised and used by various sectors such as hi-tech, environment, healthcare, education, transport, trade, e-commerce and customer care.”

The start-up community has enthusiasm, intellect and passion and is up-to-date with global technological advancements, he said.

To help start-ups develop, the Government needs to have policies that better meet their needs, he said.

The start-up community should study policies and regulations set by the city and Government and they should take support from entities like incubators, start-up acceleration centres and mentor establishments, he added. — VNS