According to economic expert Pham Chi Lan, to increase their competitive capacity, SMEs should understand and meet customers’ requirements while offering high-quality products and better services as well as building their brand names.

Hoang Van Dung, Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said most SMEs have little experience in conducting direct transactions with foreign businesses, which presents another difficulty for Vietnam to overcome after the country joins the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

There is no doubt that the WTO entry will speed up the urbanisation process. As a result, rural areas will face a serious lack of workforce as they move to urban areas to get jobs.

The admission also means that enterprises will increase the competitive capacity and renew technology unless they are left behind.

In the integration process, besides making their own efforts, enterprises will still need Government assistance in terms of mechanisms and policies. In Japan, the government has issued a number of incentive policies on administrative procedures, tax and financial support and technology development for SMEs to sharpen their competitive capacity.

For Vietnam, Shinji Fukukawa, Chief Executive Officer of the Dentsu Institute for Human Studies, said economic management should conform to regulations of the market economy. Therefore, he said the state should draw up future orientations for the industry as well as businesses to cope with challenges during the integration process. He said Vietnam should consider developing its own competitive advantages as there will be divisions within industries and the labour force in East Asia in the long run.

In many countries, SMEs play a very important role in generating jobs and supplying diverse products to society such as equipment, accessories and semi-products. Sometimes, SMEs are pioneers in the new areas. Therefore, policies on SMEs should focus on increasing their competitive capacity as well as promoting exports and providing up-to-date information to facilitate their operations.

Source: VOV