ABSTRACT
In the interviews, firms’ managers tended to argue more about the problems they faced rather than overall influences, whether positive or negative. Financial difficulties pose the most severe constraints on companies. They have to pay too many different taxes for one complete product life cycle which results in a higher cost of production. With the long time lag involved in producing for export and its cumbersome procedures, many companies have to borrow from banks to pay their taxes on the expectation of getting their money back later. Due to the high lending rate of the banks, companies see their money being eaten away by tax and interest payments. The majority of firms criticised the absence of a coherent and consistent trade policy, especially for foreign trade. For them, the government does not, as yet, have a clear policy to protect domestic production or to promote exports.
