Decision No. 1362/QD-TTg 2019 plan on sustainable development of private enterprises

DECISION

Approving the plan on sustainable development
of private enterprises through 2025, with a vision
toward 2030^[1]

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the National Assembly’s Resolution No. 142/2016/QH13 of April 12, 2016, on the 2016-2020 socio-economic development plan;

Pursuant to the National Assembly’s Resolution No. 24/2016/QH14 of November 8, 2016, on the plan on economic restructuring during 2016-2020;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 10-NQ/TW of June 3, 2017, of the 5^thPlenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (the 12^thNational Congress), on development of the private economic sector into an important driving force of the socialist-oriented market economy;

Pursuant to the Government’s Resolution No. 98/NQ-CP of October 3, 2017, promulgating the Government’s Action Program to implement Resolution No. 10-NQ/TW of June 3, 2017, of the 5^thPlenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (the 12^thNational Congress), on development of the private economic sector into an important driving force of the socialist-oriented market economy;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 622/QD-TTg of May 10, 2017, promulgating the National Action Plan to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

At the proposal of the Minister of Planning and Investment,

DECIDES:

Article1.To approve the plan on sustainable development of private enterprises through 2025, with a vision toward 2030 (below referred to as the plan), with the following principal contents:

I. VIEWPOINTS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISES

1. To remove all socio-psychological and business environment barriers for private enterprises to develop without any limit in scale and enjoy the right to freedom of enterprise in sectors and trades not banned by law.

2. To develop private enterprises in an efficient and sustainable manner, ensuring a close, reasonable and harmonious combination of their economic efficiency and their social responsibility and protecting natural resources and the environment.

3. To prioritize the provision of support to small- and medium-sized private enterprises to develop; to promote the building of major brands of Vietnamese enterprises on domestic and overseas markets.

II. OBJECTIVES AND TARGETS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISES

1. Overall objective:

To boost the quality and efficient development of private enterprises, thus creating a firm foundation and an important driving force for fast and sustainable socio-economic development.

2. Specific targets:

a/ To improve the operation quality and efficiency of private enterprises, striving for the target that there will be at least 1.5 million and 2 million private enterprises by 2025 and 2030, respectively;

b/ To promote innovation and enhance cooperative association within private enterprises and the private sector. By 2030, to narrow the gaps in technological level, human resource quality and competitiveness of domestic enterprises and increase the percentage of domestic enterprises joining the regional and global production networks and value chains to be equal to that of the leading countries in ASEAN (ASEAN-4);

c/ During 2021-2030, private enterprises will achieve per-annum  average growth rates of workforce, employee income, and state budget contribution of 6-8 percent, 25-30 percent, and 23-25 percent, respectively.

III. GROUPS OF MAJOR TASKS AND SOLUTIONS

1. Group 1 of solutions: Further stepping up the improvement of the business investment environment to maintain the trust in, and promote sustainable business investment activities of, private enterprises

a/ Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, provincial-level People’s Committees and related agencies shall concentrate efforts on resolutely, seriously and effectively organizing the implementation of tasks and solutions set forth in:

- The Government’s Resolution No. 35/NQ-CP of May 16, 2016, on support for and development of enterprises through 2020;

- The Government’s Resolution No. 27/NQ-CP of February 21, 2017, promulgating the Government’s Action Program to implement Resolution No. 05-NQ/TW of November 1, 2016, of the fourth Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, on a number of major guidelines and policies to further renovate the growth model, and improve growth quality, labor productivity and competitiveness of the economy, and the National Assembly’s Resolution No. 24/2016/QH14 of November 8, 2016, on the plan on economic restructuring during 2016-2020;

- The Government’s Resolution No. 98/NQ-CP of October 3, 2017, promulgating the Government’s Action Program to implement Resolution No. 10-NQ/TW of June 3, 2017, of the fifth Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (the 12^thNational Congress), on development of the private economic sector into an important driving force of the socialist-oriented market economy;

- The Government’s Resolution No. 139/NQ-CP of November 9, 2018, promulgating the Government’s Action Program to reduce costs for enterprises;

- The Government’s Resolution No. 02/NQ-CP of January 1, 2019, on further implementation of major tasks and solutions to improve the business environment and increase the national competitiveness in 2019, with orientations through 2021.

b/ The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall assume the prime responsibility for evaluating the implementation of the Government’s Resolution No. 35/ND-CP of May 16, 2016, on support for and development of enterprises through 2020, and proposing and recommending solutions to support and develop enterprises through 2025, with a vision toward 2030.

c/ The Ministry of Finance shall continue improving the quality of tax and customs administration and promptly resolve problems of enterprises.

d/ The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall take the initiative and work out a strategy for negotiations on appropriate bilateral and multilateral commitments, thus facilitating the development of private enterprises in Vietnam; monitor and urge the implementation of the plan on implementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) under the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 121/QD-TTg of January 24, 2019.

dd/ The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall assume the prime responsibility for further studying and finalizing the draft Law Amending and Supplementing the 2013 Land Law for submission to the National Assembly in 2020; review and evaluate the implementation of the environmental regulations and standards and observance of environmental protection regulations by enterprises, and propose amendments to the regulations on observance of the environmental law, thus creating favorable conditions for enterprises, and at the same time devise solutions to raise the effectiveness of the state management of the environment, then report them to the Prime Minister in 2019.

e/ The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry shall continue producing the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) and implementing the Action Program to promote integrity in business.

2. Group 2 of solutions: Encouraging enterprises to apply sustainable business models and cleaner production technologies, efficiently use natural resources and protect the environment

a/ The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall assume the prime responsibility for studying and formulating a program to assist and encourage private enterprises to apply sustainable business models and cleaner production technologies, efficiently use natural resources and protect the environment during 2021-2025, with a vision toward 2030, then submit it to the Prime Minister in 2020;

b/ The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility for improving mechanisms and policies for listed enterprises, obligating them to make non-financial statements which integrate environmental and social elements into annual statements and disclose enterprises’ annual compliance rate;

c/ The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall improve regulations on environmental protection, and annually announce the proportion of industrial parks and export processing zones having centralized wastewater treatment facilities with automatic observation systems and linked via network with the environmental management agencies and operating up to the environmental requirements as well as percentage of industrial clusters having centralized wastewater treatment systems;

d/ The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry shall prepare a scheme on wider application of the corporate sustainability index, adhering to the principle of adding no administrative procedures and no expenses to be borne by enterprises, then report it to the Prime Minister in 2020.

3. Group 3 of solutions: Promoting innovative startups and stepping up the effective implementation of policies to support small- and medium-sized enterprises

a/ Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, provincial-level People’s Committees and related agencies shall concentrate efforts on resolutely, seriously and effectively organizing the performance of tasks assigned to them in the Prime Minister’s Directive No. 15/CT-TTg of June 15, 2018, on organizing the effective implementation of the Law on Support for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises.

b/ The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall:

- Assume the prime responsibility for expeditiously drafting and submitting to the Government in 2019 a decree amending and supplementing the Government’s Decree No. 118/2015/ND-CP of November 12, 2015, for adding 4 sectors eligible for investment incentives, including building and commercially operating product distribution chains of small- and medium-sized enterprises; building and commercially operating small- and medium-sized enterprise incubators; building and commercially operating shared workplaces for small- and medium-sized innovative startups; and building and commercially operating technical facilities in support of small- and medium-sized enterprises.

- Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with other ministries, sectors and localities in, evaluating the implementation of the Government’s Decree No. 39/2018/ND-CP, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Support for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises, and proposing a plan on formulation of a decree amending and supplementing or replacing Decree No. 39/2018/ND-CP, in order to ensure more effective implementation of the Law on Support for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises.

- Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with other ministries, sectors, localities and business associations in, studying and submitting to the Prime Minister in 2019 a program on provision of support for small- and medium-sized enterprises during 2021-2025, focusing on small- and medium-sized innovative startups and those joining business clusters and value chains.

- Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Science and Technology and related agencies in, studying and formulating a scheme on establishment of the Vietnam National Innovation Center, then submitting it to the Prime Minister in 2019.

c/ The Ministry of Finance shall:

- Assume the prime responsibility for submitting the draft Law Amending and Supplementing the Law on Enterprise Income Tax to the Government for reporting to the National Assembly for addition to its 2020 law- and ordinance-making program, in order to concretize enterprise income tax incentives for small- and medium-sized enterprises provided in the Law on Support for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises.

- Assume the prime responsibility for formulating a scheme on pilot application of crowdfunding platform models, then submitting it to the Prime Minister in 2019.

d/ The Ministry of Science and Technology shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies in, further stepping up the implementation of Scheme 844 on improvement of the innovative startup ecosystem; and concentrate efforts on undertaking in-depth cooperation with startup communities at home and abroad, in order to promote the connection of Vietnamese startups with overseas startups.

dd/ The Ministry of Education and Training shall continue stepping up the effective implementation of the scheme on provision of support for startups of students through 2025.

e/ Provincial-level People’s Committees shall, based on practical conditions of their localities, propose the building of local innovative startup centers to promote, connect and mobilize social resources for innovative startup activities in their localities.

4. Group 4 of solutions: Providing support for raising labor productivity of enterprises; developing high-quality human resources, and raising the corporate governance capacity

a/ The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall assume the prime responsibility for further developing the Vietnam Innovation Network, building up the pool of experts to assist enterprises with groups of foreign expert volunteers in connection with overseas Vietnamese and Vietnamese students studying abroad; and send Vietnamese engineers and experts to work and study abroad.

b/ The Ministry of Science and Technology shall assume the prime responsibility for developing and operating a database on good productivity practices for use as a basis for enterprises to make data comparison and improve their operation.

c/ The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs shall:

- Continue implementing on a pilot basis the program on training of high-quality human resources according to training programs transferred from advanced countries in the world, before officially implementing to ensure their effectiveness; and promote the close connection between enterprises and vocational education institutions in vocational education activities;

- Finalize and submit the scheme on renovation and raising of quality of vocational education to the Prime Minister in 2019; and further step up the training and further training of human resources with high professional qualifications and technical skills.

d/ The Ministry of Education and Training shall assume the prime responsibility for:

- Promoting the development of forms of training cooperation between schools and enterprises; orienting higher education toward meeting social needs based on orders placed by enterprises, ensuring balance among different sectors and trades; and stepping up vocational education from general education to higher education.

- Intensifying activities of training and improving soft skills for workers to better integrate into working environments and effectively co-work with one another.

- Formulating a program to attract domestic and foreign experts as well as overseas Vietnamese to participate in training and scientific and technological research activities and programs at Vietnamese higher education institutions, then submitting it to the Prime Minister in 2019.

5. Group 5 of solutions: Encouraging private enterprises to apply science and technology and grasp opportunities brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution

a/ The Ministry of Science and Technology shall assume the prime responsibility for:

- Enhancing the integration and sharing of fundamental sources of information on intellectual property rights, raising the capacity of public service of providing intellectual property information in an accurate and timely manner, and building public infrastructure facilities for providing intellectual property services.

- Building and improving the system providing services of conformity assessment in order to create a network of testing, certification, inspection and assessment organizations which satisfy quantity and quality requirements for meeting the needs of enterprises; enhancing the state management of the conformity assessment of products and goods in Vietnam, then reporting it to the Prime Minister in 2020;

- Formulating a mechanism to encourage business establishments, research institutes and universities to intensify their cooperation in scientific and technological research and application in their production and business operations; proposing solutions to promote technology transfer and reduce technology transfer costs for domestic business establishments, then reporting it to the Prime Minister in 2019.

- Identifying needs of small- and medium-sized enterprises to apply scientific and technological outcomes in their production and business operations; proposing solutions to accelerate the certification of small- and medium-sized enterprises as science and technology enterprises in a number of priority technology fields, then reporting them to the Prime Minister in 2019.

b/ The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall assume the prime responsibility for finalizing the national strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and submitting it to the Government in 2019.

c/ The State Bank of Vietnam shall assume the prime responsibility for:

- Further improving the legal framework for the provision of banking products and services, particularly those developed on the digital technology platform.

- Studying and building the legal framework for controlled pilot operation of fintech companies in the banking field in order to expand the accessibility to financial services and reduce charges for financial services for small- and medium-sized enterprises, then reporting it to the Prime Minister in 2019.

6. Group 6 of solutions: Enhancing the role of business associations in supporting private enterprises to efficiently and sustainably develop

a/ Ministries, sectors and localities shall take the initiative in reviewing and proposing plans on pilot transfer of a number of public services subject to state management to business associations to provide during 2021-2025, then sending them to the Ministry of Home Affairs for summarization and reporting to the Prime Minister in 2020.

b/ The Ministry of Home Affairs shall assume the prime responsibility for reviewing and improving the legal framework and policies for the founding and operation of socio-political organizations, socio-professional organizations and business associations in order to create conditions for them to bring into full play their role and raise efficiency of support for their members’ development.

c/ The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry shall assume the prime responsibility for making reports reviewing the business development service market in Vietnam, proposing to the Government solutions to promote the development of such market during 2020-2030, and submitting them to the Prime Minister in 2019.

d/ The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vietnam Association of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises and other related organizations and business associations shall:

- Intensify support for provision of capacity building training for their member enterprises in order to heighten their social responsibility in the private enterprise community.

- Actively coordinate with state management agencies in recommending policies to encourage private enterprises to take part in realizing the national sustainable development goals; and multiply effective and sustainable management and governance models to help address sustainable development challenges.

- Actively carry out communications to raise the awareness about environmental protection and social responsibility of private enterprises and honor private enterprises that have made great contributions to environmental protection.

The List of specific programs and schemes is provided in the Appendix to this Decision.

IV. RESOURCES FOR IMPLEMENTATION

1. Funding sources for the plan implementation include the state budget allocations and other lawful sources.

2. The central budget shall ensure funds for carrying out general activities of the plan at the central level and tasks and schemes managed by the central level.

3. Local budgets shall ensure funds for carrying out general activities of the plan in localities.

V. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

To organize the implementation of the plan, ministries, sectors and localities shall incorporate contents of and solutions for sustainable development of private enterprises in national target programs and their own target projects and programs in order to efficiently use resources.

1. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall:

- Assume the prime responsibility for monitoring, surveying, evaluating and annually reporting to the Prime Minister on the realization of the objectives and implementation of tasks and solutions of the plan, with a view to effectively implementing the plan.

- Sum up, consider, balance and report to the Prime Minister for decision on the allocation of funds for development investment in support of implementation of the solutions set in the plan under regulations.

- Coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and Vietnam Social Security in setting up in 2019 a mechanism for coordination in recognition and classification of small- and medium-sized enterprises in accordance with the Law on Support for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises and guiding documents, thereby step by step building an interconnected system for classification of small- and medium-sized enterprises.

2. The Ministry of Finance shall consider, balance and report to the Prime Minister for decision on the allocation of funds for regular expenditures of ministries and ministerial-level agencies for them to implement the solutions set in the plan under regulations.

3. Ministries and sectors shall, according to their functions and tasks, effectively implement the contents and groups of solutions set in the plan.

4. Provincial-level People’s Committees shall:

- Take the initiative in formulating and incorporating tasks of and solutions for sustainable development of private enterprises in local programs, plans and schemes on support for development of enterprises, and work out implementation roadmaps and annually allocate human and budgetary resources for implementation of such tasks and solutions.

- Coordinate with ministries and sectors in implementing the plan.

- Assign focal points being provincial-level Departments of Planning and Investment to coordinate with related local Departments and Divisions in implementing the plan in their localities, and promptly send reports to the Ministry of Planning and Investment on problems arising in the course of implementation of the plan in order to take remedial measures.

5. Business associations shall take the initiative in seeking resources, formulating and implementing plans, programs and schemes on provision of support for development of private enterprises.

6. Ministries, sectors, localities and business associations shall send reports on implementation of the plan in the fields, sectors or localities under their management to the Ministry of Planning and Investment before December 15 every year for summarization and reporting under regulations.

Article 2.This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing.

Article 3.Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, and chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall implement this Decision.-

Prime Minister
NGUYEN XUAN PHUC

* The Appendix to this Decision is not translated.