VINACHEM

"SMEs help mobilise all possible resources, bringing opportunities to all businesses and improve overall competitiveness," Hieu told the workshop entitled SME Development Support: Policies and Solutions for Implementation.

SMEs are also important in creating jobs and improving incomes, he added.

Another 34,000 enterprises have been established in the first five months of this year, bringing the country's total number of businesses to 496,000, with a combined registered capital of US$121 billion, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

Of these, SMEs constitute about 97 per cent, provide jobs for about half of Viet Nam's labour force, and contribute 40 per cent of national gross domestic product (GDP).

But these enterprises face challenges including a lack of capital and access to land, backward technology, poor management skills, limited markets and poor linkage with larger and foreign-invested enterprises, Hieu said.

To counter this, the Government has provided favourable policies to help SMEs develop and strengthen their competitiveness, including financial support, land use rights, technology and technical skills improvement, market promotion and human resources training.

Hieu also urged policymakers to strengthen the capacity of SMEs to access credit and mobilise financial resources, resolving difficulties in land clearance and hastening administrative reforms.

The general secretary of the Viet Nam Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises Association, To Hoai Nam, said the MPI should take charge of the SME Development Fund.

"Funding events and programmes that create strong linkages and collaboration among SMEs operating in the same industry or region should be given top priority," Nam said.

Francesco Russo, chief technical advisor of the UNIDO-MPI project in Viet Nam, said SME clusters could help increase competitiveness and allow SMEs "to scale up in the global value chain".

Nguyen Van Phung, deputy director of the Ministry of Finance's tax policy department, said his ministry was also supporting SMEs in terms of incentives and tax policies.

(Source: VNS)