Guaranteeing the constitutional right to freedom of business.

Historical Context and Legal Framework for Private Business
📌 The 2013 Constitution guarantees citizens the right to freedom of business in sectors not prohibited by law, reinforced by Resolution 10 of the 12th Party Central Committee affirming support for private economic development.
🕰️ In 1986, doing business faced heavy restrictions; establishing a company required up to 35 signatures and 32 seals, taking 1 to 1.5 years with associated costs around $30 million (VND context assumed).
📜 Landmark legal changes, including the 1999 Enterprise Law and the 2014 amended Constitution, brought an open mindset, confirming freedom to do business unless the law explicitly forbids it.

Barriers to Realizing Business Freedom
🚧 Despite legal guarantees, the freedom to do business has not been comprehensively realized due to implementation issues at local and departmental levels.
🚫 Authorities often use business conditions related to construction or environment during inspections to challenge compliance, potentially reverting to older regulations if not satisfied.
⚖️ Conflicting regulations exist, such as inconsistencies between Articles 172 and 183 regarding the liability of partners in limited partnerships, causing confusion for businesses.
📈 The journey of the private economy over the last 35 years post-Doi Moi resembled a sine wave, indicating periods of stagnation and struggle despite foundational support.

Current Challenges and Required Systemic Changes
⚙️ Businesses still face significant hurdles; one example cited involved investment projects requiring 3 to 4 years to obtain investment licenses (specifically mentioned in mining).
🏭 The current state management approach relies on a control-based model that mandates compliance followed by inspection, leading to regulatory burdens.
💡 Experts argue the root problem is not just administrative procedures but the content of the laws themselves; a shift from pre-inspection to post-inspection (ex-post control) mechanisms is needed.
🤝 A fundamental change in mindset is required: treating enterprises as partners rather than subjects of management or objects to be prevented from operating for personal gain.

Actionable Steps for Reform
📉 Immediate solution: Continue administrative procedure reform, cutting unnecessary business conditions and abolishing restrictive lists of conditional sectors.
📢 Propose a measure where officials creating regulations that hinder business freedom face dismissal.
💻 Focus on the long-term shift by implementing information technology in management and fundamentally changing the leadership mindset regarding how they approach new sectors.

Key Points & Insights
➡️ The core principle established is that citizens have the right to do business in any field the law does not prohibit.
➡️ The main obstacle today is not *what* a business can choose to do, but *how* they can operate, produce, and invest, as evidenced by restrictions on production scale and investment amounts.
➡️ Businesses frequently face excessive inspections and checks despite official directives to reduce them, showing persistent issues at the enforcement level.
➡️ Successful entrepreneurs like Mr. Vinh emphasize the need for calmness and persistence; he plans to develop his rattan craft business into an export-capable enterprise over 10 years, highlighting self-reliance in production.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Feb 26, 2026, 00:47 UTC