|
GDP per capita exceeds $1,000 threshold
The General Statistics Office (GSO), on December 31, 2008, officially announced that Vietnam’s GDP per capita exceeded the $1,000 threshold, reaching $1,024 in 2008.
The statistics office said that the GDP was VND 1,487 trillion, and with a population of 86,160,000, the GDP per capita is VND 17 million. With an average VND/US$ exchange rate of VND 16,700/US$1 in 2008, the GDP per capita of Vietnam in 2008 is $1,024.
However, Bui Ba Cuong, Director of the National Accounts Department under GSP, said that the information stating over $1,000 in GDP per capita in 2008 is not really an a great deal, as 2008 witnessed high inflation and a sharp devaluation of the dollar. In 2008, the inflation rate was 19.89%, while the dollar devaluated by 2.35%.
Therefore, Cuong said, it remains too early to conclude that with the GDP per capita at $1,024, Vietnam has escaped from the list of poor countries in the world.
The official figures released by the General Statistics Office on December 31 also said that GDP grew by only 6.23% in 2008 compared to 2007. The GDP growth rate proves to be much lower than the rate of 8.38% in 2007 and lower than the targeted level of 7%.
However, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, General Director of GSO Nguyen Duc Hoa, said that the GDP growth rate should still be seen as a big achievement, if noting that the world is now in a financial crisis.
When asked if there have been signs of deflation in Vietnam, representative from GSO said that deflation occurs only when the prices go down in the context of a stabilized economy. Meanwhile, in 2008, the prices went up sharply and they have only been decreasing in the last three months. The price decrease should not be seen as the deflation, but as the return to the normal track of the prices.
When talking about the demand stimulus package initiated by the Government, Hoa said that the total capital for the package is $6 billion, but only $1 billion will be used to stimulate investments. The Ministry of Planning and Investment is building a plan for the package implementation.
Hoa said that the ministry plans to use the sum of money for big infrastructure projects which have seen construction kicked off and projects which have completed procedures and are ready for construction to start in 2009. Besides, money will also go to agriculture, product items which are Vietnam’s strengths, agriculture infrastructure, and go projects on building accommodation in industrial zones and houses for the poor.
Phuoc Ha
vietnamnet
|
