Decree paving the way for public-private cooperation in science and technology
On June 21, the Ministry of Finance held a conference to collect opinions on the draft Decree regulating mechanisms and policies for public-private cooperation in science and technology, innovation and digital transformation. Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang chaired the conference. This is expected to be an important legal basis, creating new momentum for the development of national science and technology.
The conference was attended by Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong; representatives of central departments, ministries and branches; along with many businesses, research institutes, universities such as Viettel, VNPT, CMC, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, National Innovation Center...
Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo has identified public-private cooperation as one of the key solutions to create breakthroughs for the development of science, technology, innovation and digital transformation. To implement this Resolution, the Government assigned the Ministry of Finance to develop a decree to remove institutional bottlenecks, expand cooperation space and effectively mobilize social resources.
Speaking at the Conference, Minister Nguyen Van Thang emphasized: "The Ministry of Finance identifies this as an important and urgent task, demonstrating political responsibility in realizing the Party's guidelines on growth model innovation, reforming financial mechanisms, quickly making science and technology and digital transformation a central driving force for sustainable development of the country".
Despite the PPP Law, the science and technology sector still lacks a separate legal corridor to promote tripartite cooperation between the State - enterprises - science and technology organizations. In addition, existing PPP models do not meet specific requirements such as research - development, experimental application products, and innovation.
4 orientations for decree making
The Ministry of Finance proposes a draft decree with 4 main orientations:
(1) Expand and supplement forms of public-private partnership outside the framework of the PPP Law, including cooperation between the State and institutes, schools, research organizations and enterprises.
(2) Clearly stipulate preferential mechanisms, support, and outstanding investment guarantees to encourage businesses to participate in strategic areas.
(3) Strongly decentralize, streamline administrative procedures to the maximum, shorten implementation processes, in accordance with the specific requirements of innovation.
(4) Clarify the responsibilities of participants: management agencies, host units, investment enterprises - to ensure transparency, efficiency and risk control.
At the conference, representatives of technology enterprises such as Viettel, CMC, FPT, Vingroup all agreed with the purpose of the decree, and at the same time proposed a number of recommendations such as clarifying the risk sharing mechanism, asset valuation methods and regulating more flexible cooperation between the parties.
Must be determined from institutional to implementation
At the Conference, Minister Nguyen Van Thang requested the drafting agency to absorb maximum comments to complete the draft decree, both in content and form. The draft needs to ensure feasibility, transparency and synchronization with the current legal system, ensuring compliance with the schedule issued in June according to the direction of the Central Steering Committee for the implementation of Resolution 57.
This is a very difficult content, because it is the first time there has been public-private cooperation in the field of science and technology. Therefore, it is necessary to be determined from the institutional stage, legal documents must be the most complete, at the same time, the implementation must be synchronous and with clear responsibility," said the Minister.
The biggest challenge, according to the Minister, is the classification and valuation of assets during the cooperation process. However, if we ensure publicity, transparency and have a clear pricing method, it can be solved.
The Minister suggested closely following the instructions in Resolution 57, Resolution 93 of the National Assembly and the Government's action plans, reviewing all procedures to simplify as much as possible, selecting models that can be implemented effectively, avoiding spreading.
The draft decree is expected to be issued in June 2025 and take effect from July 1, 2025.
