The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement on tariff exemptions between the 12 member nations is expected to be signed soon, whilst the Association of South-East Asian Nations Economic Community (AEC) will be officially established on 31 December 2015, 5 years ahead of schedule.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ha Giang Phuoc Tuong Mechanical Engineering Company, Mr Ha Giang, remarked that a shortage of capital and some difficulties in promoting technological innovations, along with other issues, have impeded many local businesses from boosting their regional and global integration over recent years. 

Workers at a local enterprise

In particular, many businesses have yet to become fully aware of necessary information about the commodity markets in the South East Asia region, and the world as a whole, in the current context of the upcoming TPP and AEC.

The Vice Chairman of the city’s Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) Association, Mr Nguyen Van Ly, noted that current bank loans for Vietnamese businesses and corporate income tax are now higher than those in other countries around the world.  He added that Vietnamese-made products would be less competitive than those made in other countries if domestic businesses still use outdated technologies.

The Association recently suggested that the central government should take drastic measures to foster administrative reform with a focus on simplifying procedures, improving the domestic investment environment, enhancing national competitiveness, and creating even more favourable conditions for SMEs nationwide to operate well.  In addition, the Association emphasised the need to establish a national committee for helping domestic businesses to uphold regional and global integration.

Municipal People’s Committee Vice Chairman Vo Duy Khuong asked local businesses to take the initiative to promote their internal strengths in order to fully integrate into the TPP and AEC markets.

Furthermore, he urged local business associations to introduce their members to both the opportunities and the challenges which will arise when the AEC is founded and the TPP agreement is signed.  These organisations were also asked to enter agreements with the municipal Department of Science and Technology to implement more programmes for supporting local businesses to promptly innovate their technologies.  Vice Chairman Khuong added that special attention should be paid to joining efforts with the local authorities to effectively implement the city’s 'Developing Businesses in Da Nang towards 2020' programme.