(VOVworld) – The year-end 2014 Vietnam Business Forum themed "From Agenda to Action - Preparing for New Trade Agreements was held in Hanoi on Tuesday. This has been an official dialogue channel between the government and the business community in Vietnam to discuss ways to create a favorable business environment, attract more investment, and stimulate economic growth. Discussions focused on public debts, financial bad debts, measures to boost the development of the private sector, the equitization of state-owned enterprises, administrative reform, and issues arising from free trade agreement.

Wendy Werner, the World Bank Group’s Trade and Competitiveness Manager in East Asia and the Pacific, said: “Vietnamese enterprises have shown remarkable resilience through the global financial crisis and have a strong entrepreneurial culture. They’ve made strong contributions to poverty reduction and job creation in Vietnam, truly transforming the economy. Vietnam clearly has high potential to develop world-class entrepreneurs, who will build successful businesses, create jobs, open new markets. To achieve this, Vietnam should continue to improve its investment climate through transparency and predictability. For instance, bold targets in resolution 19 to reduce administrative and regulatory time and cost for businesses are an excellent example that should be fully implemented and encouraged.”

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said that based on the delegates’ opinions, the government would revise its policies and mechanisms to create the best possible conditions for business development. He added that in 2015 the government would focus on stabilizing the macro economy, achieving a GDP growth rate of 6.2% and an economic growth rate of 6.5-7%, maintaining inflation at 5%, and ensuring that public debts are within safe limits: “The Vietnamese government will continue to fine-tune market economy institutions, regarding it as a decisive breakthrough. Vietnam will accelerate legal and administrative reforms and continue to develop differing forms of markets, including capital, monetary, labor, and real estate. We will help businesses to improve their productivity and competitiveness. Transparency will be promoted in line with the policy of a market economy and a state governed by law.”