Hanoi helps firms ride financial storm

Hanoi (VNA) - Municipal authorities have urged businesses to make more
recommendations on how they could help firms reeling from the impacts of the economic slowdown.

Vice chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Huy Tuong made the call at a
meeting with businesses in the capital last week to discuss measures to help firms
in light of falling export contracts in the first two months of the year, which were
estimated to have dropped by around 30-50 percent over the same period last year.

At the meeting, general director of the Hanoi Trading Company Nguyen Hong Son said
his company's export contracts of agricultural products, food and handicrafts to
major markets including the US , EU and Japan this year fell by roughly 30
percent.

Due to shrinking demands for footwear, the director of the Hanoi Rubber Company,
Pham Viet Hung, said the company's export contracts decreased by 30-50 percent.

Hanoi 's exporters and producers in apparel, automobile, motorbike and steel also
said consumption of their products was suffering.

Businesses recommended the municipal authorities to open more representative offices
for trade promotion in new markets including North and South Africa , and South
American countries.

Addressing the meeting, Tuong said the authorities would apply measures to help
businesses ride the financial storm.

As well as speeding up administrative reforms in a move to reduce costs and time for
businesses, policies would be applied to promote production, trading and exports,
and to encourage access loans.

Measures would also be laid out to stimulate investment and consumer demand, Tuong
said.-Enditem