The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) decision on removing 675 business conditions and licenses has been described as a ‘historic decision’. However, experts think it doesn’t have much significance.

VietNamNet Bridge - Once Bac Van Phong SEZ is set up, Van Phong Bay will have great opportunities to develop its potential. 

Visitors to Van Don will be impressed by the animation in the locality: convoys of trucks laden with building materials, machines and equipment head toward major construction sites. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam needs to draw up a long-term plan to stop receiving ODA within 15-20 years, experts say. As of June this year, it is no longer receiving preferential loans from WB.

VietNamNet Bridge - Overlapping duties in state management have been found in 18 fields.

VietNamNet Bridge - Phu Quoc Island in Kien Giang province, together with Van Don in Quang Ninh and Bac Van Phong in Khanh Hoa, has been chosen to develop a SEZ in the future.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam’s economic growth is still heavily dependent on foreign invested enterprises (FIEs), especially conglomerates. 

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has proposed major incentives including prolonged income tax exemptions for businesses and individuals working in special economic zones in three provinces.

VietNamNet Bridge - The cash flow from tax havens is often risky, especially without adequate technical and tax barriers, say analysts.

MPI has suggested stopping mining operations at Thach Khe, the biggest iron ore operation in SE Asia, but the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), Vinacomin and Thach Khe Iron JSC (TIC) have disagreed about the plan.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue on Wednesday urged the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) to quickly finalise the list of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) that needed to be divested.

VietNamNet Bridge - Experts believe that Ha Tinh province can develop its economy without having to rely on  Thach Khe iron ore mining. 

VietNamNet Bridge - The high ‘fear-of-failure’ is a challenge that affects entrepreneurs in Vietnam, despite the efforts by the government to improve the business environment. 

Vietnamese are wasting many good agricultural products as they sell them as raw materials instead of processing them for added value. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese bankers have been warned that they should beware of not only well-known banks from Japan, UK, Singapore and the US, but rivals from South Korea as well.

VietNamNet Bridge - The statistics on the number of private businesses released by state management agencies vary.

According to a General Confederation of Labor survey, there are about 300 industrial zones (IZs) and export processing zones (EPZs) throughout the country, attracting 2.8 million workers.

The low GDP growth rate of 5.1 percent in the first quarter of the year, the lowest rate in the last two years, has made it more difficult to reach the 6.7 percent GDP growth rate target for 2017. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Chinese businesses have been flocking to Vietnam, competing with Vietnamese enterprises to collect materials, causing a material shortage. 

VietNamNet Bridge - The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), which is now drafting the Law on Planning, is attempting to reduce overlapping development plans.