Tens of trillions of VND have been left in funds, according to the National Assembly’s Committee for Science, Technology and the Environment.

The Science and Technology Development Fund at Enterprises is mentioned in the 2008 Corporate Income Tax, the 2013 Law on Science and Technology and the 2017 Law on Technology Transfer.

The purpose of the funds is to create favorable conditions for enterprises to conduct research, and develop technology and innovation, thus improving competitiveness and contributing to the country’s development.

Ten years after the Law on Science and Technology was enacted, despite great efforts, experts note that the purposes and ideas remain unattainable.

Nguyen Ngoc Son, Permanent member of the National Assembly’s Committee for Science, Technology and the Environment, cited statistics from the General Statistics Office (GSO) as saying that in 2011-2019, 618 enterprises, economic groups and general corporations established in 58 cities and provinces set up and used funds (VND22 trillion, or $1 billion). 

However, the figure just accounted for 0.02 percent, not yet reaching the lower limit of 3 percent. The disbursement rate was less than 40 percent. 

Meanwhile, many enterprises did not use up the money and had to reimburse the money. The Vietnam Rubber Group, for example, had to give back 84 percent (VND1.384 trillion a year).

The latest figure is VND22 trillion.

Dr Le Bo Linh, vice chair of the National Assembly’s Committee for Science, Technology and Environment, said that 0.02 percent of enterprises setting up funds is a ‘worryingly small number’ because cash balance of VND22 trillion shows problems in using the funds.

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Khanh from the Enterprise Financial Department noted that most of enterprises setting up funds are state-owned firms.

“At the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), only VND90 billion out of VND842 billion have been used. Our survey at state-owned enterprises (SOEs) found that only 11.3 percent of them had demand to use the funds,” Khanh said.

Linh said that Vietnam prioritizes high technology so enterprises in hi-tech fields need bigger investments in science and technology. A majority of sci-tech enterprises are small and medium ones or new enterprises. 

Nguyen Nam Hai from the Ministry of Science and Technology said that the number of enterprises which are capable of setting up the funds is modest. Because of limited resources, they find it difficult to raise funds. 

Thuy Nga