Some of the Da Nang leaders joined Thursday’s get-together with a total of over 700 businesspeople and representatives from local business associations in recognition of the Vietnamese Entrepreneurs' Day (13 October).

Chairman Tho addressing the event

Addressing the event, municipal People’s Committee (PC) Chairman Huynh Duc Tho highly praised local businesses for their great efforts for the city’s progress over recent years.

Since Da Nang was recognised as a centrally - governed city in 1997, the local businesses have played an important role in accelerating the local economic restructuring process. 

Last year, non-state-owned businesses accounted for 38.99% of the city’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP).  Between January and September, the city’s total budget collection reached over 82% of the full-year’s estimates set by the city, the large amount of which was contributed by the whole business community.

The municipal government’s leader noted that, in addition to boosting administrative reforms, the city authorities have always been willing to enable local businesses to overcome any obstacles to their production and trading activities. 

In particular, one emphasis is now on deploying large-scale projects for boosting the development of local businesses by 2020, and expanding the city’s start-up ecosystem by 2020, with a vision towards 2030.

With special regard to the upcoming APEC Economic Leaders’ Week, Chairman Tho urged local businesses to take the advantage of this international large-scale event to expand their consumer markets, to enhance the product quality, and to uphold their competitiveness to affirm their positions in their domestic and foreign consumer markets.  

On behalf of the local community, Mr Phan Hai, the Chairman of the local Young Entrepreneurs Association, vowed that local businesses would make greater joint efforts with the city authorities to accelerate the city’s economic growth, to become more actively engaged in social welfare activities, and to create more employment for locals in the years ahead.

Mr Hai also underscored the need for the local authorities to promote their innovative thinking to develop Da Nang into a central regional and international-level start-up destination in the near future, and to maintain public servants’ friendly behaviour towards local businesses.

Also on Thursday, municipal PC Vice Chairman Ho Ky Minh paid visits to the Asian Tech company, and the MobiFone Service Company Region 3, to extend his best wishes to their staff for their special day. 

During his visits to the two companies, Vice Chairman Minh spoke highly of their great devotions to the local IT and telecommunications sectors over the past years.  He vowed that the local authorities would facilitate businesses involved in IT which is one of the city’s spearhead and priority sectors. 

The city leader also asked the 2 businesses to make even more significant achievements in their trade and production activities, thereby partly making greater devotion to the city’s growth in the future years.

In his meeting with representatives of the municipal Young Entrepreneurs’ Association on the same day, Vice Chairman Minh highly lauded the organization with about 400 members in total, for active involvement in local social welfare and community development programmes. 

Vice Chairman Minh (3rd right) and some representatives from the municipal Young Entrepreneurs’ Association

In particular, he also gave high praise to the implementation of the Association-launched ‘Smile of Da Nang’s Government Employees’ awards with the intention of creating a driving force for local government employees to bring better public services to local citizens.  This meaningful campaign has received high appreciation from the general public.