HCMC – Many companies in Hanoi City that have suffered trillions of dong in lost business due to the coronavirus pandemic are asking the municipal government to lift restrictions.
The municipal government on April 16 held a dialogue to discuss measures for removing the hefty woes faced by enterprises and employees amid the Covid-19 outbreak. The event was attended by representatives of State agencies and 50 businesses and associations in the city.
Speaking at the meeting, Nguyen Thi Nga, chairwoman of BRG Group, a private diversified economic group, said that the pandemic has taken a toll on the Group’s tourism, hotel, golf and import-export businesses. Its lost revenues have reached nearly VND1 trillion and it has not been able to export some 3,700 tons of rice.
She proposed the city’s government allow the resumption of services at the Group’s hotels and golf courses to minimize its losses as it is having to pay all operating costs despite having no revenue.
The BRG chairwoman added that the city could still open up business activities without compromising social distancing measures. For instance, the number of golfers in a group could be capped at eight and golfers should keep a physical distance of two meters.
Meanwhile, Thai Huong, founder and chairwoman of food chain operator TH Group, suggested the city allocate more land for TH Group to grow vegetables to supply supermarkets in Hanoi and meet the surging demand for TH food products such as vegetables, rice and milk during the outbreak.
Also, she recommended the city leverage the social distance period to execute traffic infrastructure projects.
Many other representatives at the meeting also shared their difficulties in running their businesses amid the unprecedented public health crisis. Some said their businesses would struggle to recover when the pandemic is over.
In response, the municipal Party chief, Vuong Dinh Hue, who chaired the event, said that these proposals were practical and asked the city’s government to study them for execution. He added that the city had pledged to adopt measures to help companies resume regular operations.
Earlier at the meeting, Nguyen Manh Quyen, director of the Hanoi Department of Planning and Investment, pointed out that the city’s tourism, medical and import-export sectors have been hit hard by the outbreak. Within the first three months of the year, 4,240 firms registered to suspend operations and over 13,000 people filed for unemployment benefits.
