Switzerland on April 15 announced that it will grant $4.75 million to support the partnership between the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to improve the business environment in Vietnam. The MPI and UNIDO will implement the $5.45 million project in four years (2014-2018), state media reported on April 16. In 2008-2013 period, the project was funded by the MPI, Switzerland, Norway’s Agency for Development Cooperation and UNIDO. The project helped cut the average registration time to only 3.5 days as of last year from 15 days in 2008. The improvements in the business environment, including business registration reforms have helped mobilize capital and unleashed the entrepreneurial spirit of the Vietnamese people, said Miroslav Delaporte, country representative of Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). He added that the expansion would further help the private sector by improving transparency and reducing the risks of doing business in Vietnam with information provided through the National Business Registration System (NBRS). (Thoi Bao Kinh Te – Economic Times Apr 16 p2, Thoi Bao Ngan Hang – Banking Times Apr 16 p2, un.org.vn Apr 15)
