Phạm Hồng Chương,
rector of the National Economics University suggests to implement more
drastic measures to increase the resistance of the economy in the
pandemic of COVID-19. — Photo NEU
HÀ
NỘI — Though the Government has taken decisive steps to curb the
impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still risks to the economy,
economists said yesterday at a seminar in Hà Nội.
At
a seminar on policies to overcome the impact of the pandemic held by
the National Economics University and other partners, rector of the
university and economist Phạm Hồng Chương said: “The Government should
implement more drastic measures to increase the resistance of the
economy."
Chương
added: "The country needs to prepare capacity to respond to the
pandemic and have a quick economic recovery when the virus is
controlled, preventing a decline into recession.”
Although
local authorities have provided timely and flexible packages to help
people and the economy stay safe amid the pandemic, Nguyễn Minh Sơn,
deputy chairman of the National Assembly’s Economic Committee, said
difficulties in disbursement were still preventing people from accessing
the support.
“It
is necessary to evaluate the disbursement rate of the support package,
clarify the causes of slow implementation in some places and offer
solutions.”
The
number of enterprises temporarily suspending operations reached 34,300
in the first nine months of the year, up 70.8 per cent from the same
period last year. In September, about 17.6 million workers had their
incomes reduced, of which 2.4 million lost their jobs while the
unemployment rate was reported to be the highest in 10 years.
Bùi
Đức Thọ, vice rector of the university, urged the Government to give
more support for businesses and local producers, adding: “Support
policies should be clear and transparent, minimising the procedures to
access them.”
Thọ
said small and medium enterprises should receive more attention due to
the poor resilience of this type of business amid the pandemic,
mentioning there were thousands of small firms in tourism and service
industries that had to shut down as they ran out of capital.
Attending
the seminar, economist Võ Trí Thành said the effectiveness of the first
support package was low, adding: "I'm very concerned that the second
support package that should have been launched in September is not yet
ready."
Participants
at the seminar said while the tourism industry and related sectors such
as transport, restaurants and services suffered due to declines in
international visitors, information and technology; electronic equipment
and accessories, logistics, e-commerce, consumer goods and retail saw
good growth.
Sơn
from the National Assembly’s Economic Committee said the FDI flows were
shifted from processing, manufacturing and real estate to technology
and retail as the country was one of the most attractive for investment.
However,
he added: “To compete with other countries in the region in attracting
FDI, Viet Nam needs clear orientations and solutions in both the short
and long term.”
Sơn
said: “Solutions are needed to increase productivity and attract
investment from the private sector and high-quality FDI, increase
exports, public investment and domestic consumption.”
As economist Võ Trí Thành said: “Expectations for the second support package are huge.”
Participants
from ministries, departments, central branches, international
organisations, universities and economists discussed important issues
and suggested policies and economic development models to overcome the
impacts of the pandemic in Hà Nội.
They also forecast the opportunities and challenges for the local economy in the last months of 2020 and next year. — VNS
Link:
https://vietnamnews.vn/economy/793519/better-policies-needed-to-overcome-impacts-of-pandemic.html