Sir, although the Covid-19 epidemic has declined sharply, 2022 is still a tumultuous year for domestic and foreign economies, especially for the business community. How do you rate the “health” of Vietnamese companies today?

Vietnamese companies are in an unprecedented difficult situation, especially in the last months of 2022. Many key export industries have suffered serious declines such as; Textiles, shoes, furniture, iron and steel, etc. Cement… Many companies have had to lay off staff and reduce production scale.

The reason lies in the influence of unpredictable fluctuations in the world economy, tight monetary policy to combat inflation and the threat of economic recession in many European countries, the United States, as well as worldwide, as a result of which consumer demand increased, consumption and investment fell sharply , the market tightened what led to capital for production – difficult liquidity.

On the other hand, it is due to internal weaknesses of companies such as competitiveness, corporate governance and poor technology. When it comes to the labor question, there is another area in addition to the area of ​​labor surplus, which must be expanded or reduced, in which access to labor is really difficult, especially for highly qualified workers.

In addition, the challenge of accessing capital makes it difficult for companies to sustain production and operations. The problem is becoming even more serious because companies’ cash flows have dried up after more than two years of the epidemic.

Thus, the company has to bear two impacts of external and internal factors at the same time. This point differs from companies in other countries. For other countries, they have only one problem – the impact of external forces, for them it is just a coincidence and will pass. Because of their high competitiveness and labor productivity, such shocks are temporary for them.

Annual statistics show that only 40% of Vietnamese companies are profitable, the remaining 60% are not profitable, which is a rate worth considering.

In 2022, too, the number of start-ups will be high, but the number of market exits will also be high. In particular, the number of companies that returned to the market for the first time was almost 200,000 (May 11, 2022), but the number of companies that withdrew from the market reached 134,000. If the math is simple, for every 3 firms that re-enter the market, 2 firms will withdraw.

Can’t we see any bright spots in the economic picture of 2022, sir?

I think there is still, it is resilience, the company’s efforts to move up. The last six months of 2022 is the most difficult period since Doi Moi, but the economy is still posting positive numbers, such as: Many companies have sacrificed profits to secure jobs and income for workers and contribute to economic growth.

Added to this is the government’s flexibility and determination in running the economy. This is the timely issue of guidelines to support enterprises. In particular, the spirit of enterprise in the community is still very high and does not fall, although the world economic situation is fluctuating and the domestic economy has not yet achieved a breakthrough.

He mentioned a lot about starting a business but in the current context when all 3 companies come back on the market 2 companies pull out. Is it a good idea to start a business now?

In the current context, which requires corporate restructuring, entrepreneurship must be encouraged. In difficult times, the entrepreneurial spirit should be taken to the extreme. Starting a business here doesn’t necessarily mean starting a new business, but starting a business means thinking and acting differently, finding new ways and directions to survive and thrive.

In difficult times, this is the best time to start a business, generate competitive pressure and restructure the economy on a micro and macro level. This is the time when we can reform and innovate the growth model, make breakthroughs in institutions, administrative procedures and legal frameworks.

Many forecasts indicate that the global economy will still face many difficulties in 2023, and Vietnam is no exception. What is your opinion on this topic?

It must be said that the cycle of the Vietnamese economy lags behind the world economy. Considering the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the world’s economies were severely affected, Vietnam was dubbed a “rising star”. But as they recovered, Vietnam began to tumble in the third quarter of 2021.

Nothing can be said in the long term, but in the short term (first 6 months of 2023), the situation will continue as it was at the end of 2022, the export problem is not very bright, so enterprises will continue to face difficulties. .

Regarding foreign investment, FDI companies still regard Vietnam as a good place to invest, but project issues, delays in procedures, etc. should make them more cautious.

Domestically, too, consumers will be more cautious when real estate and bond volatility remain unstable. In addition, the reserves of the people are exhausted by the long fight with Covid-19. On the other hand, the number of lost or reduced jobs (after nearly half a million people lost their jobs) will hurt the domestic consumer market.

So what does business expect from the leverage of government decisions to address these challenges, sir?

The government has worked hard to eliminate difficulties for businesses, but the ministries, agencies and municipalities have not implemented as expected, are still slow, such as B. Low payouts, procedures and mechanisms are still entangled.

Therefore, support solutions should be further expanded and extended during the Covid-19 period, such as tax deferrals, interest rate cuts, loan restructuring, etc. In addition to financial support, legal problems in particular must also be solved. This is the greatest space to fuel growth and recover the economy. The government has to review projects, solve legal problems for a number of projects that have to be stopped due to political problems, making normal operations difficult and even missing opportunities.

Public investment should be encouraged and directed. In addition, international tourism is also a strong growth engine of this period, so there is a need to strongly open the door and abolish visa procedures.

He shared that in the current context it is necessary to closely coordinate “bamboo diplomacy” and “chopstick trade”. Could you describe these two ways in more detail?

If in the field of foreign policy the strategy of “bamboo diplomacy” has helped us to successfully face a complex and unpredictable world with the “unchangeable” attitude, in economic strategy we must also promote “trading with chopsticks” in order to increase competitiveness improve Strengthening the connections of the business world.

Now, more than ever, is the time for the business community in Vietnam and all places to uphold the spirit of union and community in business to coordinate policies and plans to increase investment attractiveness. Increasing added value for products, improving the quality of investment projects, instead of competing in the style of “down together” in terms of sales, attractiveness of investments, market development.

Associations and companies play an important role here. We have a network of nearly 500 business associations by industry and region from central to local, but so far the connection in the business world is very loose. It is very important to renew the activities of business organizations to strengthen business ties.

Of course, it is necessary to take on the role of the state in promoting the activities of business associations and link chains of Vietnamese companies. I propose that business support policy should move from supporting each individual business to supporting the supply chain. This will create motivation to network companies with each other.

The same applies to the FDI sector. In addition, it is necessary to have a clear industrial policy and to encourage the development of large companies capable of linking up with the small and medium-sized enterprises. FDI should be encouraged and required to associate with domestic companies using appropriate forms. I hope that our upcoming policy of industrial development and attracting foreign direct investment will require solutions to promote the trend of supply chain linkage and proliferation in this direction.

Therefore, they know how to work in groups, have the ability to connect the community – in the spirit of “buy with friends, sell with wards”, promote the power of the “bundle of chopsticks” in wet-rice civilization to the To reach world, to reach the top, the mentality of Vietnamese business world has to be in the new context.

VnEconomy January 29, 2023 06:00

The content of the article was published in the special issue Xuan Quy Mao of Vietnam Economic Magazine, published on January 23, 2023. Welcome readers to read This:

https://postenp.phaha.vn/chi-tiet-toa-soan/tap-chi-king-te-viet-nam