Hanoi has been increasing its efforts to lessen the impact of the coronavirus crisis, with authorities implementing a series of measures to ensure “the health of enterprises is the health of the national economy”.

Secretary of Hanoi Party Committee, Dinh Tien Dung has highlighted the need to bolster the business investment environment, remove problems and inadequacies in policies, and improve administrative procedures to boost the rapid, sustainable development of businesses.

The city defines “external force” from overseas investors as an important factor, while “internal force” from domestic enterprises is a decisive factor for the economy’s autonomy and development.

Moreover, Hanoi is set to hold talks with domestic businesses to discuss recommendations, proposals and initiatives to enable the capital to introduce more support and promote business development.

Vice President and General Secretary of the Hanoi Small and Medium Enterprises Association (Hanoisme), Mạc Quoc Anh, stressed the timely and drastic support of the government and city authority. He added that the Vietnamese government had been very active in undertaking broad fiscal and monetary policies.

Long-term policies such as reducing loan interest rates and business costs, developing the domestic market and supporting enterprises in digital transformation have been introduced: “The promulgation of support policies for employees is really a timely and practical encouragement for them so it is highly appreciated,” Anh said.

Nevertheless, he said there were certain “gaps” in some policies: “Although such support is considered to be useful, there is a long distance from the policies to their actual implementation, which requires solutions to make them come to life faster.”

He went on to say: “In some policies to support employees, most businesses do not benefit because the accompanying conditions are difficult for them to implement such as those related to the number of employees quitting jobs and the enterprise revenue. Policy on 0% interest rate in payment of wages for employees is considered the most difficult to access.”

Anh has also urged businesses to cooperate with the city in terms of the implementation of guidelines and policies to support employees stabilise their living conditions.