Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked all ministries, departments and provinces to promote growth by easing the hurdles that businesses face and by helping cut down their bureaucratic expenses.

This was one of the main contents of the PM’s conclusions at the government’s recent regular meeting on solutions to enhance growth.

The PM requested all ministries and localities to create a favourable environment for investments and businesses, to focus on solving problems related to processes and mechanisms, as well as on policies and regulations to promote production and business.

Hurdles should be tackled without delay; recommendations, reviews should be made quickly; both official and unofficial expenses must be cut down; and administrative procedural reforms must be hastened to reduce costs for residents and enterprises.

Phuc also asked authorities to ensure there is credit for the economy by focusing on priority areas associated with credit quality assurance and striving for 21 per cent credit growth for 2017.

Other recommendations made by the PM include flexible use of tax and credit tools to increase investment and reduce costs for businesses, to promptly handle tax and fee problems, strengthen activities to find markets for consumption of products, trade promotion, investment and tourism.

In addition, Phuc asked for stronger fiscal discipline – in the state budget, by preventing revenue loss, collecting tax arrears, saving money through transfer pricing, ensuring approved estimates are maintained, and vigorously reforming administrative procedures on taxation, customs, state treasury and social insurance.

Tight control of imports needed to reduce trade deficit

According to the PM, exports must rise and imports should be controlled tightly to reduce trade deficit. The export of services must be strengthened on the spot, especially tourism services, and commodities and key markets. Effective measures must be put in place to control imports, especially the application of technical barriers, in accordance with law and international commitments.

Phuc also called for boosting domestic consumption, improving the quality of goods and products produced locally, enhancing the production and distribution of good-quality domestic goods to replace imported goods, and taking strict measures against smuggling and trade frauds.

On the other side, businesses also need to step up their restructuring, and the equitisation of State-owned enterprises and divestment of enterprises must move faster, ensuring that they meet the equitisation target for 2017. Deliberate delays and violations in equitisation and divestment must involve tough punishment.

The PM has asked the Ministry of Planning and Investment to coordinate with concerned agencies in expeditiously studying, analysing and evaluating the situation, adopting appropriate GDP calculation methods, constructing a socio-economic situation for 2018 and the following years by ensuring uniformity, feasibility and conformity with the objectives and tasks of the five-year socio-economic development plan 2016-20, adopted in the spirit of the 12th National Party Congress Resolution . — VNS