Speakers at the Viet Nam CEO Forum 2016 held in HàNội on March 31. — Photo phapluatplus.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Representatives from more than 300 Vietnamese enterprises participated in Viet Nam CEO Forum 2016 titled the "Boosting strengths for Businesses inglobal integration" held in Ha Noi on April 1.

The event brought together the CEOs of a numerous of local and foreign firms, economic experts and policy makers, who would share their practical experience in cross-border business and penetrating new markets.

Key issues discussed during the forum included identifying businesses' strengths and weaknesses, updating businesses on integration opportunities and challenges, and helping them learn experience from domestic and foreign firms so that they could enter overseas markets after establishing a strong position in the local market.

In addition, the impact of government's policies related to business environment improvement, inflation controlling and interests rates stability on enterprises' operation and business performance was also one of the topics mostly concerned by the forum's participants.

In his speech, Director of the Viet Nam Economics Institute Tran Dinh Thien said Viet Nam's economy showed many positive signs over the last year, but there were still many urgent and long-term problems, adding that the government as well as the business community had to conduct comprehensive preparation for a larger playground.

"Enterprises have to try their best to enhance their competitiveness so that they can be completely confident in their abilities when they are integrating deeper into the international market," Thien said.

The government need to create a good and transparent business environment for local enterprises, nurture their passionate, encourage and promote their entrepreneur spirit,said Tran Du Lich, a member of the Economic Commission of the Viet Nam National Assembly.

As a business,HoaSen Group Chairman Le Phuoc Vu said internationalintegration created more competitive pressure, forcing companies to try harder to become more innovative.

However, he said, the economy was becoming unbalanced due to the uneven development between the two blocks of FDI and domestic enterprises, adding that the government shouldformulate policies more effectively supporting domestic enterprises.

For his part, Le Khac Hiep, deputy chairman of Vingroup said local firms should not be too nervous about the penetration of foreign companies into thelocal market.

"Vietnamese enterprises have their own strengths, competition helps them grow," Hiep said.

Viet Nam CEO Forum was first held in 2012, and 2016 is its 5th year of operation. Despite being newly founded, the forum has become the most anticipated event by CEOs across Viet Nam, attracting special attention from policy makers, economic experts and media with its sharp and up-to-the-minute discussions about the key issues faced by businesses in particular and the Viet Nam's economy in general. — VNS