HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City, one of the country’s largest economic hubs, is targeting to expand the number of enterprises to 500,000 by 2020,💜 stated a draft plan of the city that was announced in a meeting between municipal leaders and local businesses on July 3.

The target is feasible to the city which plays a role of the motive force of the country’s economy, said Dinh La Thang, Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee at the meeting, which focused on mapping out a plan to realise the Government’s resolution on business support and development until 2020. Currently, the 12 million-population city has 270,000 registered firms, including 170,000 operating ones. Besides, it also has 250,000 private family businesses with high potential to develop to companies, he noted. As part of efforts to fulfil the goal, the city will strive to create a favourable and equal business environment, he added. The city leader also called for local businesses’ ideas and comments on the draft plan, so that the city’s action programmes will match the need of enterprises, creating a new motivation for their development. The resolution, issued on May 16 this year, comprises five major tasks - reforming the administrative system to create favourable conditions for businesses, making a good environment for startups, ensuring business rights and equal opportunities to access resources and business chances, reducing cost for enterprises, and protecting their legitimate rights and interests. The city draft plan also sets a number of targets, including a contribution of 60-62 percent from the private sector to total social investment and at least 36 percent from total factor productivity. It also targets a social productivity rise of about 65 percent per year, and up to 35 percent of enterprises conducting renovation activities. According to Nguyen Thanh Phong, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, the city will speed up measures to form a startup ecosystem and encourage renovation startup, while directly and indirectly supporting 2,000 startup and creativity projects through consultation and training activities. Along with strengthening administrative reform, the city will continue developing the e-government system, installing hotlines to all departments and district People’s Committees, and optimising the online portal to dialogue with people and businesses, he said. Many businesses at the meeting showed support to the plan. However, some asserted that it is also necessary to ensure quality of the enterprises rather than quantity. They also proposed the building of strong national trademark to enhance competitiveness in the regional and global markets.-VNA