The 2.9 million USD initiative "Restructuring for a More CompetitiveVietnam” (RCV), recently launched by the Australian government, islooking to forge a level playing field for all economic sectors.

The two-year initiative comes as Vietnam is on its course of economicrestructuring but stuck in decreasing growth and high inflation, saidDeputy Minister of Planning and Investment Dang Huy Dong. He alsoadmitted that macro economic instability has emerged as a concern duringrecent years, as seen in high levels of public and foreign debts, andthe rise in non-performing loans.

Director of the CentralInstitute of Economic Management (CIEM) Nguyen Dinh Cung ascribed theslow economic restructuring to the so-called “interest groups”,including the State-owned firms that take advantage of their economicprivileges to manipulate the market.

Trinh Anh Tuan, DeputyDirector of the Department of Competition Management under the Ministryof Industry and Trade, cited the example of the telecommunicationmarket, which clearly showed that when monopoly was abolished,enterprises were forced to restructure themselves in order to survive,while consumers benefitted from the competition on the market.

Raymond Mallon, RCV senior advisor said the project will help improvethe economy’s competitiveness as well as transparency, thus reducingcorruption.

Cung said CIEM will suggest ways to strengthen State firms economically and improve their corporate governance skills.

The Law on Enterprises, once it is adopted, is expected to create afair environment for all economic sectors and businesses will see muchroom for growth, he said.-VNA