The Saigon Times Daily
There are various examples illustrating this observation. HCMC’s decision to close Bach Dang Wharf to restaurant and tourist boats can be a case in point. In less than one month, the authorities have made two decisions to extend the operation of the wharf after complaints by businesses active at the busiest venue for tourist boats in the downtown area.
In its latest decision, the city allows tourist boats to use Bach Dang until the end of this month, instead of January 15, to give them more time to find other places. This is just a situational measure and the future is still uncertain.
The shutdown of the wharf for upgrade will also affect the city’s much-touted plan to develop river tours into a major tourism product in this economic hub of Vietnam, as a number of river tours depart at the wharf.
On the national front, whilst agencies are told to simplify procedures for both import and export enterprises to boost sales to increase tax collections from these activities and improve the nation’s competitiveness, new rules require more checks and legal documents and the cargo backlogs at some ports in HCMC are seen as clear evidence.
At a seminar on economic growth in Hanoi last week, Professor Pham Hong Chuong, deputy head of the National University of Economics, said exports would continue fueling the country’s economic growth this year while Tran Kim Chung from the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) pointed out the revised laws on enterprise, investment and taxes would be the main drivers.
However, speakers at the seminar noted that whether the new laws would benefit enterprises and the local economy as expected would depend on how agencies consistently implement such legal changes.
Đăng ký: VietNam News
