Vietnam is strongly considering cutting the procedures needed to start a business this year in an effort to improve the country’s business climate.
This was stressed at a Government Office meeting on Monday to discuss solutions to improve the country’s ranking for starting a business evaluated by the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business report.
Government Resolution No 2 issued on January 1 sets a target for Vietnam to jump up 10-15 spots in the ranking.
Vietnam ranked 115th out of 190 economies in facilitating business establishment indicators in 2019, falling 11 spots from 2018, with eight procedures in total.
The Government Office plans to submit a proposal to the prime minister to cut the number of procedures by half.
Minister and Chairman of the Office of the Government Mai Tien Dung said it is critical to enhance cooperation among ministries and promote the transition from paper-based to online procedures to boost reforms.
Director of the Government Office’s Administrative Procedure Management Department Ngo Hai Phan said a number of reforms must be carried out.
Phan pointed out that although most procedures for opening a business were now conducted online, some paper forms were still required. In addition, to open a bank account, companies must submit their seals and business registration certificates.
He asked the Ministry of Planning and Investment to remove regulations that require paper forms in this regard.
Paper invoices should also be eliminated and replaced by e-invoices, he added.
In addition, national databases on businesses, social insurance and labour had not been merged, Phan said, adding that it was important to link them to facilitate management.
Central Institute for Economic Management administrative reform specialist Nguyen Minh Thao said if coordination among management agencies were enhanced, 25 per cent of time and costs to implement procedures to start a business could be reduced.
A General Department of Taxation representative said promoting cashless payments would significantly help improve management.
“Difficulties for businesses must be adjusted and removed,” Dung stressed.
The World Bank’s starting-a-business indicator measures the number of procedures, time, costs and paid-in minimum capital requirements for a small-to-medium size limited liability company to start and formally operate in each economy’s largest business city.
The Vietnamese government aims to have at least one million firms by the end of this year, from the current nearly 800,000, requiring significant efforts to boost reforms and improve the business climate.
VIET NAM NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
