Firstly, it is about fostering trade and investment liberalization. APEC is to facilitate trad and investment, with special economic and technical supporting programmes for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Secondly, the area’s integration and development process in this year has to face many challenges: emerging protectionism, uncertainties and risks in recovery procedure. However, the world economy has recently shown positive signs. Facing new trends, such as The Fourth Industrial Revolution, population structure, climate change, which have conflicts preventing the area from integrating, APEC with its core value has to solve the problems and problems-to-be leading to reforms in mid and long term in the area economy and world economy. Vietnam did a good job of promoting integration and collaboration in the area’s economies.

Vietnam hosting APEC 2017 shows it is integrating deeply with the area’s ecpmp,oes amd spending much effort in launching domestic reforms. This year, Da Nang city, Vietnam will host the APEC 2017 Economic Leaders’ Week (AELW). Da Nang has much achievenment in recent years and is considered Viet Nam’s “worth-living” city in terms of dynamism, friendliness and good environment for doing business and living. This year also marks the first time Vietnam stays on the sidelines of APEC CEO Summnit, APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. Viet Nam’s images covers 10 major cities and hundreds of sideline, official and specially official meetings with the participation of Vietnamese businesses. APEC promotes connectivity, integration, investment and trade. This, together with Vietnam’s ability, in this challenging context directly and indirectly creates a broader zone as well as a larger and more convenient playground for SMEs. Besides, Vietnam runs many APEC supporting programmes, about enhancing skills, connecting businesses, sharing managerial experiences in the best ways… Vietnam offers SME priorities following creativity in digital era, as well as proposes over developing SMEs, concerning digital connection, creative start up, investment ability applied Fourth Industrial Revolution and high-technology agriculture. These incentives enhance APEC, in general, and SMEs’ ability, labor source, new skills. They are all recognized and necessary for SMEs. Through SME Association, ministerial meetings …, the connection and connecting abilities in line with projects and opportunities are enhanced quite strongly, while the rest depends on SMEs’ effort.

There are three issues confronting SMEs. The first issue is the business’s activity, as in business meeting business, people meeting people, people meeting business, businessman meeting businessman. A huge digital era requires businesses, especially SMEs, to have ambition and professonal connecting spirit.

The second issue is foreign language which is limited to SMEs. Vietnamese businesses have basic barriers in communicating with the world, big businesses, big partners. This as well creates transparency-related limit in business’s explanation.

The third issue is the joint ability in connecting, cooperating between SMEs to create more attraction. APEC 2017 is a big opportunity for Vietnamese SMEs to enhance knowledge and develop.

Industry 4.0’s positive influences are huge. These influences bring opportunities which is yet estimated (in terms of size) and sure to be grabbed. This is a challenge as well as a big opportunity for SMEs to create new products meeting higher demand of markets and customers. This opportunity is being motivated strongly by customers’ demand and customers with higher incomes’ demand.

On the other hand, businesses have to change the ways they do business. Managing is basically about connecting and deciding. Adjusting management requires high costs, including investment cost, construction cost, cost to alter production… It is early to efficiently state which, among opportunity profit, challenge, expense, is bigger on smaller as there is yet general estimation. The certain thing we know is SMEs like it or not, it still exists. So, the best solution is to study actively in order to grab and take the best advantage of the opportunities to niminize costs.

In many recent researches conducted in Vietnam, the majority of businesses find the challenges are big and difficult to catch. Many of them believe they can catch the challenges. As the matter of fact, a fairy large number of businesses in many sectors, including health care sector, education sector, operate automatic production lines, robots… The challenges are big but that doesn’t mean they are impossible for Vietnamese people and businesses to catch, as they already exist in our life.

The market is competitive, due to businesses. Because of this competitiveness, thing like 105.000 newly-established businesses, 10.000 businesses returning to work, 5.000 – 6.000 collapsed businesses are normal. They are certain and need to be considered as market’s basic challenges. Things will get harder for businesses to catch up with market activities. A game requires winners and losers. The key is to compete, to catch up with and fiter trends. The opportunity is big to business which dares to face with competitiveness and open doors to integrate. State needs to prepare infrastructure, IT, new skills to contribute to building human resource, establishing legislative scheme, supporting businesses in minimizing costs. Businesses need learn how to connect more professionally, adapt with positive trends benefitting them.