VCCI President Ho Sy Hung: Unlocking resources for business development

On the morning of April 2, in Hanoi, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) held its 12th Executive Committee Meeting, 7th term, focusing on many important issues related to the development of the business community in the new context as well as reviewing personnel matters and adopting the meeting's resolution. 

In his opening remarks, VCCI President Ho Sy Hung said, in the context of a rapidly and profoundly changing world, Vietnamese businesses can only seize opportunities when resources are genuinely unlocked.

In Mr. Hung’s opinion, the world economy has experienced instability as a result of major countries' geopolitical conflicts, growing trade protectionism, ongoing supply chain restructuring, climate change, and the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI). These factors have put strain on Vietnam's highly open economy, but they also present new chances for companies that can quickly adjust and take action.

However, VCCI President stated that as foreign investment flows are drastically changing and new FTAs provide Vietnamese companies with enormous expansion space, challenges would always contain opportunities.

The policy is clear; the resources need to be unlocked

Mr. Hung emphasized that Vietnam has set a clear, ambitious political target for high-growth and sustainable development. The goal of double-digit growth has been set as a central task and concretized through a series of resolutions.

In particular, Resolution 68/NQ-TW on the development of the private sector was considered a guiding principle, affirming the driving role of this sector while also setting out the requirement to remove barriers and create an equal and transparent business environment.

Along with that are resolutions on science and technology, innovation, digital transformation; international integration; and legal reform… forming a synchronized policy system that opens up new development opportunities for Vietnamese businesses.

However, according to Mr. Ho Sy Hung, the problem lies not in a lack of policy direction, but in unlocking resources to put policies into practice. When legal procedures are still complicated, and access to capital, land, and information is limited, opportunities, even if they exist, are difficult to transform into growth.

Removing bottlenecks for businesses

Based on that experience, VCCI President believes it is necessary to directly address the existing bottlenecks in the business environment. These are not only institutional barriers but also obstacles in policy enforcement and access to resources.

He emphasized that the business community is the force that best understands these bottlenecks. Therefore, opinions at this meeting should focus on specific issues: what barriers to be removed immediately, what policies to be proposed to unlock resources, and how VCCI needs to innovate to serve businesses more effectively.

He also acknowledged and appreciated the role of the VCCI’s executive committee members—who not only lead businesses but also contribute to connecting and reflecting the voice of the business community in the policy-making process.

According to the VCCI President, every opinion and proposal is not only for consultation purposes but also a responsibility towards the business community and workers. These recommendations will be submitted to the competent authorities to contribute to the improvement of policies and the business environment.

In the context of Vietnam entering a new phase of development—the "era of the nation's rise," Mr. Ho Sy Hung believed that businesses would become a vanguard force that was stronger, more resilient, and more innovative. And to achieve this, the prerequisite is that resources—from institutions and policies to capital, markets, and the business environment—must be unlocked in a synchronized and substantive manner.