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VN has maintained reasonable growth rate, says Prime Minister
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told the National Assembly on the opening day of its autumn session on October 20 that though global economic recession has affected Vietnam, sound policies have limited its impact.
According to the Government’s report, Vietnam has achieved GDP growth of 5.2 percent, and held the increase in consumer prices to seven percent, one third of the 2008 rate. The national budget deficit is only 6.9 percent. Almost all enterprises have overcome the most difficult period and have resumed production.
The report also pointed out some problems: the GDP growth rate is the lowest in the last ten years; Growth was wide but not deep; labour productivity and quality as well as competitiveness is still low; and the exchange rate and foreign exchange market was not controlled flexibly, causing some problems in the monetary market.
The government’s report predicted that the global economy will see positive changes in 2010 but many difficulties will still remain. Hence, Vietnam’s goal for 2010 will be recovering growth rate, not preventing economic slowdown.
Dung announced a comprehensive goal for 2010: “Concentrating every effort to resume economic growth rate at higher level than 2009; raising growth quality and macroeconomic stability and preventing the return of high inflation; ensuring social welfare and improving the people’s living standard; gaining initiative in integration and raising the effectiveness of international economic cooperation; maintaining politic-social stability and defence and security; and striving to achieve the goals and missions of the five-year plan 2006-2010”.
To fulfil the above goals, the government introduces five groups of solutions:
Firstly, continuing to improve the business and investment environment; boosting production and services; urgently designing and implementing a plan to restructure the economy and change the model of growth.
Secondly, flexibly and carefully controlling financial and monetary policies to achieve macroeconomic stability, prevent high inflation and ensure to archive the growth goal.
Thirdly: ensuring social welfare; developing culture, society and environment protection. Notably, this group of solutions mentions increasing the minimum wage to 730,000 dong per month as of May 1, 2010.
Fourthly, improving state administration and speeding up administrative reforms, fighting corruption, practicing thrift and preventing waste.
Fifthly, strengthening defence and security, ensuring social security, improving the effectiveness of foreign policies to create a favourable environment for the country’s development.
After PM Nguyen Tan Dung presented the government’s report, NA deputies listened to the Vietnam Fatherland Front’s Chairman Huynh Dam’s report of voters’ opinions.
The report integrated 1700 opinions expressed by citizens, concentrated on minerals management, environmental pollution and food hygiene.
Major goals set for 2010:
- GDP growth: 6.5 percent, worth around 1.931 trillion dong (equivalent to $106 billion), per capita income of around $1,200.
- Growth rate for agriculture-forestry-fishery sector: 2.8 percent, around 7 percent for industry and construction and 7.5 percent for service sector.
- Total export revenue will grow by 6 percent compared to 2009. Total budget revenue of 456.4 trillion dong, up 16.8 percent over 2009.
- Total budget spending of 581.9 trillion dong, up by 9.2 percent over 2009. Budget deficit of 125.5 trillion dong, equivalent to 6.5 percent of GDP; inflation held to around 7 percent.
- Creating jobs for around 1.6 million workers and sending 85,000 workers abroad.
- Reducing the percentage of poor families to less than 10 percent, having 27.5 hospital beds for each 10,000 people and per capita housing area of 13.5 sq.m.
- Some 83 percent of rural people will have hygienic water and 84 percent of urban people to have tap water
vietnamnet
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