More efforts to be exerted to simplify business conditions: Official

Cutting down business condition number is one of the key solutions that the Government has worked out to improve the business environment and national competitiveness in 2023, stated Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment (MPI) Tran Huy Dong at a conference in Hanoi on July 6.

This year, the inspection and check of business activities will be reformed to ensure they do not affect the normal operation of enterprises, along with measures to enhance the quality of supporting services for enterprises, said the official.

Dong noted that in the 2016-2019 period, about 50% of the business conditions were abolished, commenting that this is a positive result.

Dr. Nguyen Minh Thao, head of Business Environment and Competitiveness Department of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), cited a survey on conditional investment and business activities and business conditions in 15 fields, which shows that the quality of business conditions in some areas have been improved.

Thao said that business conditions in many areas have been designed in a systematic and clear manner, while many unreasonable conditions have been removed, contributing to enhancing transparency in law-building.

However, the expert held that the efforts to improve the business environment and business conditions are slowing down, while the barriers in business conditions have yet to be removed in some areas.

Deputy Minister Dong said that the MPI is reviewing all conditional business activities and business conditions in 15 areas under the management of ministries and sectors to explore existing problems in the field.

Participants noted that under the Investment Law 2020, the number of conditional investment and business activities is 227, but the real number is much higher, while overlapping and incoherence have still been seen in regulations on conditional business activities.

A representative from the CIEM pointed to major problems in the field, including the unreasonably large number of required certificates, the limitation in decentralisation in licence granting, and complicated administrative procedures in granting sub-licences.

The CIEM representative proposed that ministries and sectors continue to simplify and cut down business conditions. The Government should not raise more conditions that hinder investment and business activities when issuing new legal documents or amending existing ones, while enhancing the efficiency of consultation and verification of legal documents before issuance, said the representative.

At the event, representatives of some associations, businesses and experts expressed their hope that the Government will resume the programme to reform and improve the business environment, directing the implementation of solutions to improve the business environment, and strengthening the evaluation of the solutions’ efficiency.