Hanoi (VNA) -Vietnamese policymakers and businesses should foster fair competition to drivesocial development and ensure a socialist-oriented market economy, an expertsaid.

Nguyen Dinh Cung, Director of theCentral Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), said at a forum on nationalcompetition policy in Hanoi on October 3 that there could be no market economywithout competition.

He said the economy would benefitfrom a domino effect generated by competition, because productivity wouldimprove, at enterprises and among workers.

The greater the level ofcompetition, the higher the level of market development, Cung said.

Dau Anh Tuan, Director ofthe Legal Department of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce andIndustry (VCCI), noted that when it comes to business competition, Stateagencies seem to be suffering from a ‘management addiction.’

Tuan said the prevalence of manylicenses and business conditions that are time consuming, lack transparency,suffer from irregular implementation and interfere with a business’s autonomywould slow down economic progress.

"Regulations that are toostrict will also impede enterprises from competing freely," he added.

Cung suggested that the Law onCompetition be amended in order to ensure fair competition, and related lawsand policies adjusted to boost competition levels by eliminating barriers,discrimination, and other unreasonable business conditions.

“It is a general mentality thateveryone wants their business or industry to be monopolistic, but it isprecisely this way of thinking that holds back national progress. We have tocontrol all kinds of unfair competition, including monopolistic tendencies,’ hesaid.

[Competition Law needs to be improved: official]

Other experts at the forum agreedthat more concrete action was needed to remove business licence barrierscausing harm to the enterprise community.

There should be a mechanism tosupervise and deal with agencies tasked by the Government with abolishingbusiness conditions and to supervise implementation of newly improved licenseregimes, they said

Phan Duc Hieu, Deputy Director ofCIEM, believed that with an enabling Competition Law, anti-competitivebehaviour would soon be dealt with effectively, ensuring fair competition,

A new draft amendment to the 2005Competition Law stipulates that the national competition authority would be theadvisory body assisting the Minister of Industry and Trade (MoIT) in Statemanagement of competition, organising investigations and other tasks.

The draft amendments to theCompetition Law are being seen as a new approach that clarifies the nature ofand impacts on the nature of business competition.

However, Cung felt the role ofthe competition authority in the draft law was almost absent.

‘It is necessary to add thisfunction and to task the competition authority with ensuring regulatory controlover any malpractice that impedes or distorts fair market competition,’ hesaid.

Trinh Anh Tuan, DeputyDirector- General of the Vietnam Competition Authority under theMoIT, said the 2005 Competition Law was an important legal document regulatingthe competitive relationship between businesses in the market.

It would continue to be animportant legal corridor for creating and maintaining a healthy, equal businessenvironment, and for creating favourable conditions for national economicdevelopment, effectively allocating social resources and ensuring the interestsof consumers, he said.

The revised Law on Competition isbeing finalised by the MoIT and will be submitted to the National Assembly forcomments at its fourth session later this month.

As of 2016, after 12 years ofenforcement of the Law on Competition, eight cases of anti-competitivebehaviour had been dealt with and fines and processing fees of nearly 5.5billion VND (245,000 USD) imposed in six cases.

During this period, there wereover 330 complaints from consumers and businesses, 182 of which wereinvestigated. Advertising accounted for 62 percent of unhealthy competition,followed by illegal multi-level sales at 17 percent.

The MoIT handled 32 cases relatedto unfair hoarding involving 189 related businesses.

The ministry also activelyinvestigated many important sensitive sectors in the economy in order toenhance its ability to detect micro signs of breaching the Competition Law.

A total of 87 pre-litigationinvestigations were conducted during the 12 years.

Timely handling of trans-boundaryanti-competitive behaviour contributed to stability in the domestic economy,especially in key economic sectors, said Hieu.

Experts, researchers, andbusiness representatives attending the forum presented and proposed policymeasures to improve market development, competitiveness and productivity in thecountry.

The measures included plans torestructure State-owned enterprises towards promoting competition, access tocore infrastructure, and proper use of agricultural land.

The forum was an opportunity forbusiness professionals, policymakers and economists to exchange views anddiscuss solutions to enhance the national competitive landscape. It wasorganised by CIEM in collaboration with the German Development Cooperation(GIZ).-VNA