A board comprising senior executives of major national corporations and industry associations has been launched with the aim of understanding and removing hurdles to a greater private sector role in the national economy.

Announcing the board’s establishment on Monday night, Minister and chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung said the “IV board” will function under the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council for Administrative Procedure Reform (ACAPR).

The board will be chaired by Truong Gia Binh, president of Viet Nam Software and IT Services Association and deputy chairman of ACAPR.

Dung, who is also chairman of ACAPR, said the board would be tasked with researching, advising and proposing reforms in mechanisms, policies and administrative procedures relating to private sector development.

"The Prime Minister has very high expectations of the private sector," Dung said, adding that the IV Board had been set up to identify and remove several barriers to fulfilling its potential.

"The establishment of the IV Board also demonstrates the Government’s determination to bring the spirit of the Party Central Committee’s Resolution 5 on Private Sector Development to life," Dung said.

This would promote private sector development and enhance its role and position in the Vietnamese economy, he added.

Dung also said that a ACAPR meeting on Monday discussed remaining tasks in 2017 and key tasks for 2018.

The council determined that it would prioritise cutting formal and informal costs for businesses, he said.

Accordingly, it would ask ministries and agencies to assess how many business procedures could be reduced towards minimising the costs of doing business.

The council would also propose appropriate solutions for different business fields after strengthening its dialogue with enterprises and business associations, Dung said.

IV Board Chairman Binh said that in accepting the new task, he and other board members felt a solemn sense of responsibility, keeping in mind the great expectations of the business community.

"To do well, we know we have to overcome many difficulties. We will have to be very cautious, and not become an interest group," Binh said.

He said the first principle that the IV Board had set out was to boost the private sector’s development with specific, practical and detailed proposals.

“For example, if logistics costs are higher than in other countries, we will have to clarify how much higher it is, and how much of the cost is on the road and how much is related to storage," he said.

The board will focus its attention on most-affected business areas and act to remove entangled bureaucratic procedures that are costly and take a lot of time.

"We have promised the Prime Minister that we will increase private businesses’ GDP contribution from 40 per cent to 60 per cent in the future," Binh said.

Binh also said the board would initiate long-term support for innovation and startups, take the initiative in dealing with industrial revolution 4.0 in Viet Nam.

Binh’s deputy, Don Di Lam, is general director of the Vina Capital Group and deputy chairman of Global Agenda Council on ASEAN (World Economic Forum).

Other members of the board include representatives from the Viet Nam Software and IT Services Association, Binh Duong Business Federation, Binh Thuan Shrimp Association, Tourism Advisory Board and Vina Capital Group. — VNS