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HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Viet Nam should perfect its market economy institution and accelerate administrative reform to increase its national competitiveness in order to maximise the benefits of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) once it is established in 2015, a conference heard in Ha Noi on Tuesday.

Participants in the conference urged businesses to actively research the AEC and put forward measures to increase competitiveness and participate in the region's supply chain.

Addressing the event, Head of the Party Central Committee's Economic Commission Vuong Dinh Hue said that once it is formally set up, the AEC will help Viet Nam grow more rapidly, generate more jobs, attract more investment, increase production capacities and improve its standing in ASEAN and international forums.

However, he noted that the country will face challenges during the AEC integration process as there is still an economic development gap between Viet Nam and other countries in the region.

He called upon all ministries, sectors and enterprises to prepare for the opportunities and challenges involved in joining the regional arena.

According to expert Yoshifumi Fukunaga from the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia, participating in the AEC will help Viet Nam's economy grow by an additional 3.5 per cent thanks to tariff cuts and the liberalisation of trade and services.

The AEC is scheduled to be shaped in late 2015. From then onwards, ASEAN will be a common market on which goods, services, capital and labour can be exchanged freely. — VNS