VGP – PM Nguyen Tan Dung summarized socio-economic picture in the first six months of 2013 and figured out major orientations for the second half, in a recent interview to the Viet Nam News Agency.
PM Nguyen Tan Dung: The Government is keen on its preset targets, tasks and solutions – Photo: VGP Regarding the outcomes in the first six months, PM Dung noted that the economy was on the right track.
Inflation was tamed. Consumer price index increased 2.4%, the lowest pace against the same periods of the past ten years.
Interest rates fell and liquidity have improved. Credits, mainly channeled to priority areas, grew 3.6%. The exchange rate and foreign currency market were basically stable. Foreign reserve is equivalent to 12 weeks of imports. Gold market was gradually put under control.
Export value stood at over US$62 billion, up over 16% against the same period last year. FDI capital reached over US$10 billion, an increase of nearly 16% while disbursement volume was over US$5.4 billion.
Disbursed ODA was estimated at US$2.2 billion, or 51.1% of the yearly plan, up 10% against the same period of the previous year.
The GDP expanded 4.9% compared to 4.93% of the first half of 2012, however, it grew 5% in the second quarter in comparison with 4.76% in the first one.
Industrial production was also recovering with 6% recorded in the first quarter compared to 4.5% in the first three months. Inventories dipped. Agriculture, forestry and aquaculture production rose 2.4%.
Despite financial limits, the Government paid special attention to social security and social welfare policies, particularly for the poor, ethnic people, and residents in disadvantaged areas.
Preferential redit loans, mainly for students and poor households, were estimated at over VND 118 trillion, up 10. Around 2.5 million people got regular allowances worth VND 9 trillion. Nearly 45,000 tons of rice were allocated to support the poor and over 720,000 new jobs were created in the first half.
Administrative reform, settlement of complaints and denunciations, anti-corruption, and anti-wastefulness were accelerated. Diplomatic work was strengthened. National defense and security, social order and safety were ensured.
However, the country still faces numerous challenges, namely unstable macro-economy and inflation, high rate of bad debts, low credit growth, slow purchasing power, sluggish production, modest agricultural growth.
Life of a proportion of people, particularly poor households, has not been improved significantly. Traffic accidents increased against the same period last year.
For the achievements innational defense and security, external affairs, especially the protection of national sovereignty, PM Dung said these fields also attained important results.
By the end of June, Viet Nam had established diplomatic relations with 181 countries, trade contacts with over 200 countries and territories with the two-way trade volume of around US$126 billion. Relations with partners have been deepened. Viet Nam set up strategic or comprehensive partnership with many countries. It is a responsible member of ASEAN and the international community, striving for peace, cooperation and development.
The country sets an active mind in international integration in various fields. Apart from effectively implementing signed agreements, Viet Nam is also active in joining FTA talks, especially the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Viet Nam-EU FTA, Viet Nam-Republic of Korea FTA, and FTA between Viet Nam and Customs Unions of Russia, Belarus and Kazakstan.
Viet Nam’s stance on peace, stability, cooperation for mutual interest and prosperity; on ensuring maritime security, safety, and freedom in the East Sea on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, DOC and working towards to COC, has been praised by the international community.
To facilitate production and maintain growth, PM Dung said the Government will be consistent with its targets, tasks and solutions, focusing on stabilizing macro-economy and controlling inflation, speeding up production, ensuring social security and social welfare.
The Government will continue to cut interest rates, increase outstanding loans, particularly in priority areas; stabilize the exchange rate and foreign currency market; effective manage gold market.
It will also continue measures on tax extension, reduction and exemption, put the Viet Nam Asset Management Company into operation to deal with non-performing loans and reduce inventories, create favorable conditions for businesses to access to credits, ease difficulties against the real estate market, effectively disburse package to support low-income people to purchase houses.
Administrative reform, particularly the simplification of procedures on credit access, tax, customs and real estate will be further beefed up.
The Government will zero in on realizing the Master Plan on restructuring the economy combined with the implementation of the three strategic breakthroughs.
PM Dung called for active supply of information regarding the performance of ministries, sectors and localities in order to create social consensus for successful translation of the set targets into reality./.
By Hai Minh
Đăng ký: VietNam News