Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc congratulated the awarded businesses and expressed his appreciation towards the considerable contributions made by enterprises to the country's development and international integration.—VNA/VNS Photo

HA NOI (VNS)— The Gold Star Awards (Sao Vang Dat Viet) were presented to outstanding Vietnamese brands and businesses in Ha Noi yesterday.

This was the tenth time the Awards were presented by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union. In addition to awards for the top brands, the organizers also honoured 10 enterprises for their contributions towards the development of the community.

Truong Hai Auto Joint Stock Corporation, Hoa Sen (Lotus) Group, Phu My Fertiliser Plant, PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation, Vietnam Rubber Group, FPT Group, Viet Nam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade, Traphaco JSC, Thien Long Group, and Vissan Ltd Co were in top ten this year.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc congratulated the awarded businesses and expressed his appreciation towards the considerable contributions made by enterprises to the country's development and international integration.

Phuc affirmed that the Government and the Party always created favourable conditions and environment for the business community's sustainable development.

As a result, during the past eight months, more than 10,000 enterprises have resumed operations after some time of suspension, while the number of start-up business continued to rise.

He also said, within the context of the country's integration towards the global market, domestic enterprises needed to distinguish themselves and maintain strong brands within the domestic market and develop their brands beyond; focus on restructuring to boost production efficiency, increase competitiveness and, especially, be prepared for Viet Nam joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

The Gold Star Award, founded in 2003, aims to encourage Vietnamese businesses to focus on building their brands and enhance their competitiveness to prepare for international integration.

Over the past decade, nearly 1,730 outstanding brands have been honoured.

In 2012, the honoured brands generated more than VND743 trillion (US$US$35 billion) in revenue, paid VND46 trillion ($2.1 billion) to the State budget and created jobs for 466,000 people.

Earlier on Sunday, President Truong Tan Sang also made a reception speech for outstanding representatives of the Viet Nam Association of Young Entrepreneurs on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of its establishment (August 31).

Sang said the mission of young entrepreneurs in the country's business community is to contribute to macro policy-making and socio-economic measures, boosting the image and strength of Vietnamese trademarks.

For their part, the business representatives made clear their desire to aid the country's socio-economic development and recommended solutions to overcome the credit and financial limitations which have hampered their production.

They voiced proposals for administrative reforms to create a healthy business environment in order to positively contribute to the country's growth.

The Viet Nam Association of Young Entrepreneurs currently has 10,000 members throughout the country. — VNS