Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the meeting. (Photo: VNA)

Addressing the business community in dozens of tele-conference hosts on Saturday, the Prime Minister recalled the glorious victories in Vietnam’s contemporary history, including the Dien Bien Phu  and the April 30 Victories as well as the recent spirit of fighting the pandemic and now stagnation as enemies.

“We need to focus on reviving the economy towards a growth rate of beyond 5%, surpassing the IMF forecast of 2.7% while inflation should be kept below 4%. We should aim at 5 targets, including domestic economic sectors, private and public investment, FDI attraction, exports, and domestic consumption boost,” said PM Phuc.

The Prime Minister said that the recent social distancing time has helped enterprises to rethink their new development path and value chain. Vice Chairman of the Korean Business Association in Vietnam, Hong Sun, made recommendation for business recovery: “We are appreciated of the government’s resolute measures to support FDI companies, including the Koreans, in recovery. We suggest re-opening of flight connection with countries where the epidemic has been brought under control so that businesses could resume in a new normality. We will introduce more high-quality investment into Vietnam on a selective basis of FDI attraction while strengthening Vietnam-Korea business ties. The Korean business community and other foreign businesses are confident in Vietnamese economy and its epidemic control measures and commit long-term cooperation with Vietnam.”

State Bank of Vietnam’s Governor, Le Minh Hung, talked about monetary policy lenient to business recovery. “We will consider lowering base interest rates and debt restructuring if necessary while simplifying credit grant procedures. These will share the business burden for recovery,” said Hung.

In conclusion, the Prime Minister commented on the national economic prospects.  “The pandemic could be Vietnam’s opportunity for growth if we could maintain good state governance, good business operation and cooperation. The businesses should not merely rely on others but rather promote restructuring and sustainable development. Business support policies should ensure facilitative environment through monetary and fiscal tools, interest rates and fees. The macro economy should be stabilized to facilitate growth, logistics and infrastructure development,” said Mr. Phuc.