President meets City entrepreneurs

President Truong Tan Sang and National Assembly deputies of HCM City on Saturday met with local entrepreneurs to listen to their views on issues concerning business.

In the meeting, local entrepreneurs also demanded the safeguarding of national sovereignty in the East Sea and shoring up the economy.

Tran Viet Anh, Vice Chairman of the HCM City Rubber and Plastics Manufacturers Association, reported that more than 3,000 plastics enterprises nationwide have to import US$6 billion worth of materials, mostly from China, every year.


Pham Xuan Hong, Vice Chairman of the Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association, said that since materials for production are mainly imported from China, the State should make the best use of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and free trade agreements to develop the country's support industries.

Meanwhile, Vu Van Minh, General Director of the Vina Giay Corporation– specialising in making footwear – suggested more favourable policies to be issued to help domestic businesses produce materials on their own.

Responding to proposals targeting an independent economy, the State leader asked businesses to heed the date of January 1, 2016, when ASEAN and China will remove their trade barriers.

At that time, if domestic production remains stagnant like it is now, Viet Nam will be flooded with Chinese goods, he noted.

Support industries create a large number of jobs and help drive the gross domestic product growth, yet most of the profit from this sector flows into foreign investors, President Sang noted.

He ordered business circles to join hands with relevant agencies soon, to devise measures to regain the economy's momentum and ease dependence on imported materials.

At the meeting, President Sang and NA deputies also heard proposals from entrepreneurs regarding real estate, the gold market and the import of animal feed.