Private sector held back by SOE land lock
A lack of “essential’ guiding documents was impeding the effusiveness of the new Land Law, said participants at a seminar in Hanoi on October 21. Although the Land Law came into effect more than three months ago, a detailed decree explaining the fine print of regulations is still being thrashed out.
The seminar “Implementing the newly amended land law from the business perspective’ heard opinions from enterprises and experts in order to fine-tune the draft decree before a final version is submitted for the government approval. The final decree would be presented to the government soon, said an unnamed senior official from the government’s research committee.
At the meet, participants contributed opinions relating to rules on property prices, land clearance, land–use rights and leasing real estate. Some businesses complained of discrimination on land-use rights between state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and private companies.
Hanoi University of Law expert, Nguyen Quang Tien, said SOEs often used land wastefully, even leaving land unused, while small–and medium–sized enterprises (SMEs) paid skyrocketing land rents.
Many businesses urged the government to establish a board to inspect land use, suggesting if land is mismanaged by state administrators or SOEs it should be removed from their jurisdiction.
Some participants complained about the cumbersome procedures still attached to renting land for commercial purposes.
Director at Hoang Quan Property Co, Hoang Son, said the decree should simplify and clarify such processes to create better conditions for enterprises to rent land.
Deputy head of the rural small–and medium enterprises association, Le Khac Triet, asked that the one–door policy for land rent, which was stipulated by the law, be thoroughly carried out.
Businesses also asked the government to set up another board to enforce the overall transparent implementation of the Land Law.
The conference was jointly organised by the Research Committee, Vietnam Association for Young Entrepreneurs, and Vietnam Competitiveness Initiative (VNCI) of the US Agency for International Development.
