1 1/. A brief overview of status of cooperative movement in Vietnam - In early 90s, the cooperatives get out of the centrally planned and subsidized economy. - The Law on Cooperative in 1997, the old typed coops transferred to the new typed cooperatives and re-registered under the law. - Newly established coops appear and diversified operations. 5,700 new coops set up since 1997.

2 There are 14,207 coops in which: + 8,349 agricultural coops consumer coops credit coops + 2,069 industrial coops + 1,072 transportation coops construction coops fisheries coops other coops (school coops, water supply coops etc.)

3 - 7,5 million members - 1 million staff and officers working in this sector. - Average growth rate in the coop sector is 11% since 2000, particularly 13,5% in Business and production income of 50,000 billion VND accounting for 8,6 % GDP.

4 2/. Policy mechanism to coops - Revised the Law on cooperative in November 2003 and approved by the National Assembly of the S.R.V. - The main features of the revised law: + Define clearly the concepts of the coop. + Extend the scope of the participation such as the State officers and civil servants, legal entities can join to coops.

5 + Simplify the business registration procedures + Coops allow to set up the companies or enterprises. Chairman can be voted among the members or hired from outside. + Define clearly the functions of Vietnam Cooperative Alliance (VCA).

6 - The Government formulated many encouragement policies to the coop sector: + Training policy to the coop staff: support partly or wholly training fee and assist to compile the training materials. + Land policy: allocate land free of charge and grant the land use right certificate to the agricultural coops. Non agricultural coops can lease the land for long term and reduce 50% of leasing fee for the first two years.

7 + Financial – credit policy: Clear the old debts, exempt corporation income tax for the newly established coops or the restructured coops in the first two years. Coops can borrow capital from credit institutions, banks and national projects etc. + Scientific – technology assistance policy: Encourage the scientific – technology research agencies cooperate with the coops and transfer the new advanced techniques to coops. The State support the collective economy to adopt the new scientific technology techniques.

8 + Policy on marketing support and market expansion: promote trade and provide information, seek the markets for members and coops in domestic and oversea, introduce and display the products in the exhibitions and trade-fairs.

9 3/. Objective Appraisal and assessment of effectiveness of coop. Policy and Coop. law - Revision of the Law on coop and formulation of encouragement policies to the coop sector create the favourable conditions for the development of this sector. Thousands of new cooperatives set up. The share capital of coops increase 2 times higher compared to the previous years.

10 4/. Status of implementation of Recommnedations of 6 th Asia-Pacific Coop. Ministers’ Conference held in April 2002 in Kathmandu - Revised the Law on Cooperatives - The government of Vietnam formulated many open and encouraged policies to support the effectiveness of coops. - Enhance the State managerial role to the cooperatives through the related Ministries. - Facilitate the cooperatives to participate in the social – economic programs of the Government.

11 Thank you for your kind attention