The Government chief tasked the Ministry of Planning and Investment to coordinate with relevant ministries, agencies and localities to promptly finalize and submit to the Government a draft Decree stipulating organization and operation of the SMEs development Fund.

The Ministry of Finance shall coordinate with relevant ministries, agencies and localities to mull over and propose amendments to the Law on Corporate Tax which shall define the corporate tax levels applicable for SMEs.

The Ministry of Science and Technology is responsible for detailing the policies to support SMEs in technological research and innovation.

The Ministry of Justice shall coordinate with relevant agencies to propose amendments to Decree No. 66/2008/ND-CP dated May 28, 2008 of the Government on legal support for enterprises and submit to the Government in December this year.

Earlier on March 8, 2018, the Government issued Decree No. 38/2018/ND-CP on investment for small-and-medium start-ups and innovative firms, which took effect on March 11, 2018.

Under the Decree, start-ups will be given support from the State budget in localities with no more than 30% of total investment mobilized from investment funds.

The maximum time for investing in a start-up is five years. After the period, State financial institutions in localities could transfer shares and contribute capital to private investors.

SMEs account for a majority (over 97%) of the total number of enterprises in the economy, playing an important role in creating jobs and income for laborers, mobilizing social resources for development investment and contributing to the state budget./.