Phạm Trọng Nghĩa, NA deputy from northern Lạng Sơn Province speaks at the group discussion session on Thursday. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI – National Assembly (NA) deputies expressed a desire for breakthrough solutions from the Government to help businesses overcome difficulties during a group discussion session held yesterday.

The session took place as the NA reviewed the implementation of the socio-economic development plan and the State budget for 2022, as well as the implementation of the socio-economic development plan and the State budget in the early months of 2023.

A Government report highlighted the existing limitations in implementing the socio-economic development plan in the early months of this year. GDP growth in the first quarter of 2023 reached 3.32 per cent, which was 1.71 per cent lower than the same period of last year.

Many industrial production localities experienced slow growth, with some even experiencing negative growth compared to the same period last year.

Production and business activities faced numerous difficulties, particularly in the fields of industry and construction of small and medium-sized enterprises. Traditional major export markets contracted, and many businesses lacked orders. The State budget revenue tended to decrease as the public investment capital disbursement rate in the first four months only reached 15.65 per cent of the annual plan, which was 2.83 per cent lower than last year.

Newly registered FDI capital decreased by 17.9 per cent, and realised capital decreased by 1.2 per cent. The total number of newly established businesses decreased while the number of temporarily suspended and dissolved companies increased.

Phạm Trọng Nghĩa, NA deputy from northern Lạng Sơn Province, said businesses withdrawing from the market remained high.

On average, 19,700 businesses participated in the market each month, while 19,200 businesses withdrew. In the first four months, exports reached US$108 billion and imports reached $102 billion, a decrease of 11.8 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively.

Therefore, these factors needed to be thoroughly studied for appropriate policy responses.

"The Government is determined to achieve ambitious targets, but analysts say that 2023 is a year of exhaustion with early impact on the economy," he said.

"Businesses are the backbone of the economy, making significant contributions to the country's development. During the post-COVID-19 pandemic period, businesses are facing tremendous difficulties. The Government needs a stronger solution to help businesses, and society should support businesses during these challenging times," he added.

Lê Thanh Vân, NA deputy from the southern Cà Mau Province, said the favourable growth index in 2022 was mainly due to the low result of 2021, which was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the first quarter of 2023, the growth rate was only 3.32 per cent. Global impacts, and unresolved domestic issues have hindered this year’s effective recovery.

According to Vân, it was necessary to have an objective perspective and avoid negative assumptions attributing the economic downturn solely to macroeconomic management or certain limitations in economic governance.

In his opinion, the core issue remained the quality of personnel. The deficiency lies in the competence of officials rather than the operation of economic institutions or businesses.

Some deputies mentioned the severe decline in the industrial development momentum in the southern region, such as Đồng Nai and Bình Dương provinces, where many businesses have closed down and workers have lost their jobs.

They said businesses needed more financial and legal support from the Government. They suggested bolstering the tourism sector to offset the decline in commodity trade, implementing administrative procedure reforms to maximise convenience for businesses, reducing financial obligations for businesses and citizens, and supporting enterprises in trade promotion and market expansion.

Regarding the proposal to use the State budget for renovation, upgrade, and expansion of existing facilities, Minister of Finance Hồ Đức Phớc said the Ministry of Finance has completed the draft resolution of the National Assembly on the pilot use of State budget for this purpose.

The ministry proposed the pilot use of regular budget funds to implement projects with a total budget of less than VNĐ15 billion for renovation, upgrade, and expansion of existing facilities.

Regarding the difficulties in disbursement, he said the Public Investment Law needed to be amended because currently, ministries, sectors, and localities were all constrained by regulations requiring new funds to initiate projects and projects must have funding. This made it impossible to proceed, he added. - VNS