Experts have suggested Government and State management agencies create ahealthy investment climate for small- and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) to compete in the 600-million-strong ASEAN market in anticipationof the year-end establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).

They suggested speeding up administrative reformthrough the implementation of one-stop-shop customs procedures,simplifying required paperwork and facilitating the flows of vehiclesand goods.

According to the 2014 Business ClimateReport conducted by the World Bank and the International FinanceCorporation, the average time spent on tax procedures in Vietnam was872 hours for each SME annually, while 21 days are needed to completeexport procedures and another 21 days for import procedures.

To improve the business climate, the Government has recently issuedResolution 19 to streamline procedures for enterprises to prepare, fileand pay taxes in an average of 171 hours annually, in line with that ofthe ASEAN-6: Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines,Malaysia and Brunei. The time required for export and importprocedures will be cut to 14 days and 13 days, respectively.

An The Dung, Office Chief of the inter-sectoral steering committee foreconomic integration said the Government could support businessesthrough implementing anti-dumping tax measures and building qualitystandards for products in line with the commitments of the World TradeOrganisation (WTO) and other signed agreements.

CaoSy Kiem, Chairman of the Vietnam Small-and Medium-Sized EnterprisesAssociation, recommended enhancing business awareness of integrationdemands and building strategies based on their individual strengths.

The State should improve the business administration mechanism inaccordance with international practices to help business confidenceduring integration, as well as assist them in human resources trainingand administrative procedures, he added.

An The Dungwarned that the biggest hurdles to overcome are the quality of goodsand services, investment attraction and trade protection measures.

Competition is expected to intensify after the formation of the AEC inlate 2015, which will remove virtually all tariffs on goods tradedbetween Vietnam and other ASEAN member nations, Dung said.

Hecalled on businesses to make full use of opportunities resulting fromthe regional economic integration and requested joint supporting effortsfrom State-run management agencies and businesses to removebottlenecks.

Small- and medium-sized enterprises account for up to 96 percent of the businesses operating in Vietnam.-VNA