Vietnam saves VND6.3t a year by cutting business eligibility requirements

Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung speaks at the meeting – PHOTO: VNA

By cutting business eligibility requirements, Vietnam has saved some 18 million workdays, equivalent to VND6.3 trillion (US$273 million), each year, Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung said at a meeting on December 28.

Since 2016, the Government has issued eight decrees, 19 resolutions, two directives and eight decisions to reform administrative procedures, including cutting business eligibility requirements.

Between 2016 and 2020, the country eliminated 3,893 of its 6,191 business eligibility requirements, 6,776 of 9,926 commodities subjected to a specialized inspection and 30 administrative procedures related to specialized checks. In 2020 alone, 239 business eligibility requirements have been abolished.

Dung said such efforts by ministries, agencies and localities have helped the country improve its position in international rankings.

In the World Bank’s Doing Business Report, Vietnam jumped 20 places between 2016 and 2020 to rank 70th among 190 economies.

In the Global Competitiveness Report, Vietnam jumped 10 places in the world rankings from the 77th spot in 2018 to the 67th spot among 141 countries in 2019.

Vietnam also moved up three notches to rank 42nd of the 129 economies in the 2019 edition of the Global Innovation Index. The country scored above average in all dimensions measured in the index relative to the lower middle-income group.

In terms of e-Government development, the Government has issued many legal documents, programs, strategies and plans to provide a legal corridor for the building of e-Government toward a digital Government, economy and society. Consistent efforts to develop e-Government initiatives have contributed to the improvement of the business environment.

Dung said over the past few years, the Government Office has worked with the Ministry of Information and Communications and other governmental departments to build and put into operation important information systems, which are a basis for the development of e-Government, including the national e-document exchange platform and an information system to manage the meetings and paperwork of the Government, called e-Cabinet.

These systems have helped the Government save some VND8.5 trillion per year and boost the connection between the Government and other administrative agencies, the people and enterprises, thereby serving the development of digital Government and the digital economy.

In the United Nations’ E-Government Development Index 2020, Vietnam ranked 86th among 193 countries and territories, up two places from 2018. The country continuously secured higher rankings between 2014 and 2020, from 99th to 86th, and has been listed among the countries with high levels of e-Government development.