With its outstanding achievements in operations from 2009 to 2013 and its contributions to the cause of socialist construction and defence of the country, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) is bestowed the First-class Labour Order by the State President. On this occasion, Vietnam Business Forum has an interview with Dr Vu Tien Loc, VCCI President, on this event. Lan Anh reports. After more than 51 years of construction and development, VCCI has now become a powerful organisation with over 100,000 members and its units are very strong. Could you tell us more about this development?
VCCI is a national agency assembling and representing the business community, employers and business associations in Vietnam with the purpose of developing, protecting and supporting businesses, contributing to national socio-economic development, promoting economic, commercial, scientific and technological cooperation between Vietnam and other countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. VCCI is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit organisation having the status of a legal entity and operating with financial autonomy.
The highest lead body of VCCI is the VCCI National Congress, which is held every five years. The Congress elects the Executive Committee and side committees and organisations of VCCI. The Executive Committee elects the President, Vice Presidents, General Secretary and appoints the Standing Board – a standing body responsible for daily activities of VCCI. The Standing Board is led by the President. VCCI is a member of the Vietnam Fatherland Front.
In 2013, the number of VCCI members nearly doubled that in 2009. In the first three months of 2014, VCCI admitted nearly 700 new members, bringing its members to over 100,000, including more than 11,000 direct members.
To perform its functions and duties, VCCI now has specialised units at the headquarters and nine branches and representative offices stationed in key economic areas of the country. Besides, VCCI has attached and affiliated organisations like the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre and the Vietnam Women Entrepreneurs Council. VCCI-affiliated units include the Enterprise Development Institute, the Institute for Information Technology for Business, the Business Office for Sustainable Development, the College of Business Administration and Management, the Business Forum Newspaper, the Vietnam Business Forum Magazine, the Vietnam Potential Media Centre, the Vietnamese Entrepreneurship Cultural Centre and five subsidiary companies performing other duties assigned by VCCI. VCCI now has 1,000 employees.
VCCI obtained a lot of remarkable achievements in operations from 2009 to 2013. Would you please tell us more about those effective fields?
In advising the Party and the State on building laws, schemes, projects and policies, and improving the business environment, VCCI built and submitted the Politburo the plan for Resolution 09-NQ/TW on building and promoting the role of Vietnamese entrepreneurs in the period of accelerating industrialisation, modernisation and international economic integration. On December 17, 2011, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong paid a working visit to VCCI and informed of the Resolution. In his speech, he appreciated VCCI’ activities and reaffirmed VCCI’s roles of gathering and representing the business community, organising trade and investment promotions, supporting business development, and promoting the roles of the Vietnamese entrepreneur force, and contributing to the rapid and sustainable socioeconomic development of the country.
In the 2009 -2013 period, VCCI also drafted and opined many regulatory documents, including the draft Law on National Reserves; the Law on Price; the Law on amendments and supplements to the Law on Personal Income Tax; the Circular on instructions for Corporate Income Tax; the draft revisions and supplements to the Decree No. 39/2009/ND-CP; the draft Decree on Noncash Payments; the draft Decree on amendments to the Decree 92/2007/ND-CP on instructions for the Law on Tourism; the draft Decree on amendments and supplements to the Decree No. 79/2006 on detailed instructions on implementation of some articles of the Law on Pharmacy; the Governmental Decree on Electronic Customs; Policy on Contractor Tax; the Decree on amendments and supplements to the Decree No. 39 / ND-CP on industrial explosives; and the Decree on perfecting State management in State-run enterprise. VCCI assigned its officials to take part in the Committee responsible for reforming administrative procedures and improving the investment and business climate. VCCI was praised by the Prime Minister for this aspect. VCCI also participated in enhanced law education project in some key localities in the 2012-2016 period.
In particular, from 2006 to 2013, to perform its duties, VCCI annually collaborated with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to survey, research and publish the provincial competitiveness index (PCI), which reflects businesses’ opinions on business environment. PCI was published for the first time in 2006 with 42 provinces and cities ranked. To date, PCI includes all provinces and cities in Vietnam. PCI consists of nine sub-indices, aimed at assessing the quality of economic governance at provincial level, degree of facilitation, friendliness of business environment, and efforts for public administration reform in provinces and cities. PCI is initiated and developed by VCCI and its methodologies and approaches are being “exported” to other countries in the world like Cambodia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Thailand.
With VCCI, trade and investment promotion, human resource training, and business development have been more favourable. Could you introduce VCCI’s remarkable achievements in these fields from 2009 to 2013?
From 2009 to 2013, VCCI organised about 3,190 training courses for approximately 176,000 businesses. Apart from basic business knowledge and skill training programmes, VCCI focused on adding advanced administration training for senior executives of companies. Besides, VCCI strengthened and expanded connectivity with well-reputed foreign universities and training organisations to organise joint training programmes and internships in foreign countries so as to help businesses to enhance practical knowledge and exchange experiences with famous corporations and entrepreneurs in the world. Typical training cooperation programmes included business training programmes with the United States and with Inwent Programme in Germany. VCCI signed a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Education and Training on demand-based training surveys.
Also during this period, VCCI welcomed more than 3,000 foreign business delegations with more than 98,000 businesspeople visiting Vietnam to survey the market and seek investment and business opportunities. Among them, 98 delegations accompanied their heads of state. VCCI also led more than 1,200 Vietnamese delegations with more than 27,900 companies to attend international conferences, survey markets, participate in fairs and exhibitions in foreign countries. As many as 166 delegations accompanied the Head of State and senior leaders of Vietnam.
VCCI also continued to implement action plans to enforce the Directive 22 CT/TW of the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee on strengthening the leadership and direction in building harmonious, stable and progressive labour relations in enterprise by take part in building laws on labour, supporting business establishment, and connecting with more than 150 domestic and international business associations. It also assigned 63 business associations in provinces and cities to perform the role of representing employers in their localities. It also guided its branches, representative offices and employer representative agencies inside local business associations to represent employers when they took part in tripartite labour mechanism, especially their involvements in settling more than 760 labour disputes and strikes against the laws. It also implemented the National Programme for Sustainable Business Development in the 2010-2014 stage, with a vision to 2020, and the National Programme on Occupational Safety in the 2010-2015 period to support sustainable business development, improve working conditions and enhance the entrepreneurial culture in enterprises.
Over half a century of construction and development, the growth of VCCI is proportional to the growth of Vietnamese entrepreneurs. You are a key person in drafting and bringing the Resolution 09 into life, which recognises and affirms the huge roles of Vietnamese entrepreneurs. How do you feel about this?
After 51 years of development, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), the business community, entrepreneurs and VCCI have made positive contributions to every phase of our country’s revolutionary formation and development, from the fight against French colonialists and American imperialist to the post-war national construction, especially during the doi moi (reform) era. We have built a stronger force of businesses and entrepreneurs, who are playing an increasingly important role in national economic development.
The Party and the State of Vietnam affirm that enterprises and entrepreneurs are the primary vanguard force in the cause of economic development and integration. In particular, the Resolution 09 of the Politburo requires building a strong force of Vietnamese businesspeople in addition to building the working class, peasants and intelligentsia. Heavy duty and great responsibility are placed on the shoulders of Vietnam entrepreneurs. We hope that those right resolutions of the Party will continue to come to life with specific action programmes of both the Government and the business community.
With its achievements in the past term (2009-2013), VCCI is bestowed the First-class Labour Order. This is really a great honour, recognition for the contributions of all members, officers and employees of VCCI in the past time.
VCCI Hall of Fame1. State, Government-level commendations:- In 1998, VCCI is conferred the First-class Labour Order by the State President- In 2003, VCCI is conferred the First-class Independence Order by the State President- In 2007, VCCI is conferred the Second-class Labour Order by the State President- In 2008, VCCI is conferred the Ho Chi Minh Order by the State President- In 2011, VCCI is awarded the Certificate of Merits from the Prime Minister.- In 2013, VCCI is awarded the Emulation Flag from the Prime Minister.- In 2014: VCCI is conferred the First-class Labour Order by the State President2. Commendations at ministerial, central branch and association levels- From 2009 to 2013, VCCI received a lot of emulation flags and certificates of merits from ministries, central branches and associations like the Party Committee of Central Enterprise Bloc, the Central Inspectorate, the Chairman of Hanoi People’s Committee, Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Trade Union of State Employees.