Representatives of provincial leaders, the Provincial Business Association and experts chaired the workshop

Leaders of departments, branches, economic experts and more than 100 enterprises participated in the conference, under the chairmanship of Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Phan Thien Dinh.

At the workshop, Vice Chairman Phan Thien Dinh said that the situation of COVID-19 pandemic is relatively complicated. Therefore, the difficulties and challenges that businesses are facing also come with opportunities and lessons to improve business management. This lesson is not only for the present time but also for the long-term development of enterprises.

It is predicted that the provincial budget will fall up to VND 1,000 billion this year. Along with other sectors, the operation of businesses will be greatly affected. In this context, there have been many models of businesses changing in a more positive way: enterprises are more interested in business management and risk management, thereby, creating "resistance" for businesses. Many businesses have "sat down" together to find the direction of "overcoming difficulties", connecting the business community for development.

The economic expert Pham Phuong Trung speaking at the workshop

 “All of these challenges will create damage to the economy as a whole. But if we know how to react, it will bring benefits for us. These benefits may lie from an economic perspective or a lesson in management ... The good news is that the Hue business community is looking at these challenges in a relatively optimistic and positive perspective," Mr. Dinh said.

On the side of the province, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Phan Ngoc Tho had meetings with the leaders of associations, the Provincial Business Association, and related departments and branches. He also discussed privately with experts to offer solutions to support businesses as well as calculated the budget deficit. Chairman Phan Ngoc Tho requested that the entire administrative system in 2020 be thoroughly reformed, so that every month a new project will be launched. The list of projects is already finalized and most of these projects have investments of hundreds of billions VND or more.

This is a task which the province has never done before. If we do this work well, the business investment environment of Thua Thien Hue will change.

At the seminar, Mr. Pham Phuong Trung (M.Sc), an International Economic Expert of Hue University of Economics and Tran Sy Chuong, an  economics and business development strategist, shared the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to the world and Vietnam economy and the plan for businesses in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Micro and small businesses facing many difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Chairman of the Provincial Business Association Duong Tuan Anh shared that, in order to support businesses to minimize damage, the province should offer support for businesses, such as considering sightseeing ticket discount; offering fee waivers and minimizing procedures for foreign visitors; allowing the Investment and Development Fund and Credit Guarantee Fund for small and medium enterprises to study policies to support businesses during and after the pandemic. The Association also suggested proposing the Government and the banking industry to study credit policy packages, loan interest rate reduction and exemption, debt freezing, debt rescheduling, and payment terms easing; to issue tax policies to support businesses; and to reduce input costs and extend the time of paying social insurance ...

Concluding at the conference, Vice Chairman Phan Thien Dinh affirmed that the proposals of the business community, if under the authority of the province, would be dealt with immediately. With issues under the Central authority, the province will soon request directions from the government.

“We hope that the businesses focus more on business management, "foster" health for themselves and businesses, develop a real action plan to be proactive in this passive situation, rethink new products which are more suitable for the market, formulate coping strategies after the pandemic... Through this, we can create a strong business community with resistance to overcome difficulties," Mr. Phan Thien Dinh said.

Story and photos: Lien Minh