In the past 60 years, the city had seen businesses contribute hundreds of billions of dong in taxes to the national budget, as well as creating jobs. — VNA Photo

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Sixty years after the capital was liberated from the occupying French troops, the city had become a central force in the national economy thanks to small and medium-sized enterprises, heard a workshop in Ha Noi yesterday.

Speakers said the city's industrial enterprises had focused on the high-tech sector, which formed the backbone of sustainable economic development. Moreover, the city had shifted in recent years to prioritising high-value industries, with the goal of becoming a leading research, design and manufacturing hub. Therefore, enterprises had innovated equipment, technology and human resources, creating more competitive products and increasing export turnover.

Despite difficulties in the 2011-13 period and the earlier financial crisis and recession in the 2006-10 period, which brought decreasing interest rates, high input costs and high inventories, the city's average growth rate of 15.8 per cent demonstrated that the efforts of small- and medium-sized enterprises had been worthwhile, they said.

In the past 60 years, the city had seen businesses contribute hundreds of billions of dong in taxes to the national budget, as well as creating jobs, speakers said. The city had also introduced policies to create opportunities for the establishment and development of enterprises which related to financial support, production space, market expansion, public services and tax reduction.

The workshop was co-organised by the Ha Noi Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises Association (Hasmea) and the Ha Noi Industrial and Trade Department. — VNS