An international workshop entitled ‘Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) - A Motivation for Economic Development’ is taking place at Da Nang’s Saigontourane Hotel from 2 - 4 August.

Vice Chairman Minh speaking at the workshop (Photo: dangcongsan.vn)

The event has been co-organised by the Viet Nam Union of Science and Technology Associations, the Centre for Sustainable Development, and India’s JA Alpha Business Research and Publishers Pvt Ltd.

Economic experts at the event said SMEs now make up over 50% of the total gross domestic product (GDP) in developing nations and member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).  They also account for 95% of the number of businesses, and provide up to 70% of jobs for the domestic labour force in the above-mentioned countries.  In Da Nang, the number of SMEs makes up 96% of the total of local registered businesses.  This type of business contributes around 45% to the city’s GDP and provides jobs for 60% of the local workforce.

Addressing the event, municipal People’s Committee Vice Chairman Ho Ky Minh said SMEs have helped to promote the city’s economic growth, reduce poverty, and create jobs for local residents.  He said the local authorities hoped that they would continue their efforts to create extra motivation for the city’s further progress.

In addition to the city gaining remarkable achievements over recent years, some experts also pointed out several shortcomings in the operation of SMEs in the city.  In particular, they sometimes lack investment capital, market information, and skilled employees, and find it very difficult to access official capital sources.

The participants stressed the need for the city to focus on training tourism staff, enhance enterprise restructuring, and promote the applications of science and technology into SMEs to spur their expansion.