Accelerating reforms to improve the business environment is vital to creating a growth driver for the economy in the context of increasing global uncertainties, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong said on Friday.

At a conference on business environment reform by the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), Dong said that it was becoming increasingly challenging for Viet Nam to move up the position in the rankings of ease of doing business, especially in the context that the economy had just gone through a difficult period due to the pandemic and facing unpredictable fluctuations.

Enterprises were falling into difficulties since mid-2022 due to unpredictable developments in the global markets pushing up input costs and drops in demand, forcing many to narrow down production and slash jobs.

“While enterprises desperately need support in terms of institutional reforms and business environment improvement, the level of interest of ministries, agencies and localities seems to sag,” Dong said.

In some sectors, barriers were even erected, making it more difficult for businesses. Therefore, enterprises’ confidence in institutional reforms and business environment improvement remained fragile, he added.

The improvement in some indicators of the business environment lacked sustainability while some remained unimproved and even fell in the ranking, such as in the innovation index, sustainable development and e-participation.

Determination and drastic efforts by all ministries, agencies and localities were needed to improve the business environment which was vital to create an economic growth driver, Dong said.

According to Nguyen Hoa Cuong, Deputy Director of CIEM, the pressure, difficulties and challenges were clearer in the last two months of this year as a number of enterprises were forced to cut jobs and maintain production and business at a moderate level.

Many legal documents still lacked consistency and feasibility, especially those in sectors of investment, land, construction, housing and environment, which was pushing up the costs of enterprises. Limitations in the implementation of public services remained a bottleneck in the business environment improvement.

To create breakthroughs in the business environment, Cuong said that regular inspections must be carried out to strictly handle officials who intentionally caused difficulties for enterprises.

It was necessary to further cut the business lines with prerequisites and simplify business procedures, Cuong said, adding that tight control must be placed on the erection of new business lines and new prerequisites. — VNS