VietNamNet Bridge – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has appeared
at the on-going 4th session of the National Assembly on November 14 to address
socio-economic concerns raised by NA deputies and voters.
At the Q&A session in Hanoi
on November 14, Dung spoke of the country’s developing socio-economic situation
and commented on monitoring and management requirements for the remaining
months of this year.
He stated that at the beginning
of the session, the Government reported the socio-economic situation in the
first nine months, and forecasts for the whole year to the NA. In October and
the first half of November, the economy continued to see positive developments
with a slight CPI growth of 0.85 percent in October - much lower than that of
the previous month - raising the ten-month figure to 6.02 percent.
According to the Government
leader, in the first 10 months, budget revenue reached 76.2 percent while
spending was 78.8 percent of estimates. Exports increased 18.4 percent and
imports were up 6.8 percent. Payment balance continued to improve with stable
foreign exchange rates and increased foreign currency reserves.
Industrial production in October
rose by 5.8 percent compared to a 4.6 increase in September, while the total
agro-forestry-fishery production value increased by 3.9 percent.
Rice exports for the whole year
are expected to reach 7.5 million tonnes, the highest seen so far. Retail goods
and service consumption increased 17.1 percent.
Foreign tourists to Vietnam
numbered 5.35 million and are expected to hit 6.5 million by the end of the
year - up 8.1 percent. The country generated jobs for close to 1.2 million
labourers, fulfilling 80 percent of the yearly target.
The socio-cultural situation has
continued to see fine development. Defence, security, social order and safety
have been maintained, and foreign relations have gained positive results.
The above-mentioned outcomes have
created more favourable conditions for the country to fulfill objectives and
tasks that the Government reported to the NA at the beginning of the session,
said the PM.
However, he noted that the
country still faces many challenges in the context of domestic and global
difficulties.
The world economy is vulnerable
with numerous hidden risks. The recent G20 meeting of developed and emerging
economies presented negative assessments of the global economy in 2013, saying
that recent economic stimulus measures are not strong enough to help the world
economy escape from the slowdown. Bad debt remains a threat to the economic
growth of not only the EU, but also Japan and the US , which could push the
world economy into further difficulties.
The domestic macro economy and
inflation-curbing work are yet maintainable. Production and business still face
difficulties. Overall demand has reduced, while inventories and bad debt have
stayed high, he said, adding that if the situation is not improved, the economy
will become sluggish, negatively affecting jobs and living conditions of the
population.
Regarding issues related to
society, culture, national defence and security and external relations, Dung
said there still remain problems that must receive more attention if they are
to be solved. He cited the recent flood that caused disastrous losses in
several northern coastal provinces.
The Prime Minister stressed that
the government will promptly and firmly implement the tasks and measures stated
in the National Assembly Resolution on the Socio-economic Development Plan for
2013. At the same time, it will continue applying measures to strengthen the
micro economy, reining in inflation, while removing barriers for businesses to
foster production, job creation and growth.
The government will create
practical and detailed plans of action, while strengthening regulations,
focusing on responsibilities of leaders in the implementation process.
It will actively implement
awareness work and create consensus and determination to carry out the tasks in
2013.
Accordingly, the government will
focus on the following tasks.
Firstly, it will solve
inventories, settle bad debt and remove barriers for enterprises - stepping up
the development of production and business.
Large inventories and bad debt
are considered as knots in the economy.
To manage inventories, PM Dung
said it is necessary to increase the total demand of the economy, allow businesses
to expand in their markets, and reduce production costs, thus creating
favourable conditions for businesses to cut prices and sell more goods.
All the said three solution
groups need financial resource, and this requires measures to prevent loss of
revenue to be strengthened while thrift must be strictly practiced. The
Government will set tighter regulations on the spending from the 2013 State
Budget, he added.
On the issue of bad debt, Dung
noted that the situation in credit organisations has worsened rapidly since the
2nd half of 2011. According to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), bad debt
accounted for 8.82 percent of the economy’s total credit - equal to about 250
trillion VND.
Dealing with bad debt is an
urgent matter and needs to be implemented with a multitude of measures,
including selling off inventories and supporting business operations.
International experiences show
that the State plays an important role in solving bad debt. The Government has
asked the SBV to work with the Ministry of Finance to work out a plan to
establish a debt trading company and issue legal documents to function as a
basis to manage bad debt.
The country strives to reduce the
bad debt level to about 3-4 percent by the end of 2015, the Government leader
said.
As for difficulties in the real
estate market, the Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Construction, the
SBV, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of
Finance to coordinate with localities to develop solutions to deal with the
challenging market.
The government will also continue
the implementation of a legal system on urban management, property, and
business and tax policies to reduce property speculation.
Measures to solve bad debt,
inventories and obstacles in the real estate market need to be implemented at
the same time. The government considers it an impending key task.
Regarding economic restructuring,
the government has composed a master plan on economic restructuring in
combination with improved quality, effectiveness and competitiveness.
Since 2012, it has focused on
restructuring investment (especially public investment), restructuring
State-owned enterprises (chiefly economic corporations and groups), and
restructuring credit organisations.
In terms of investment
restructuring, Vietnam has applied many measures that initially achieved
positive results. The government will carry on with their plan for a complete
legal system on investment, and suggest the National Assembly amend the Law on
State Budget and issue the Law on Public Investment, Dung said.
On the restructuring of State
companies, the Prime Minister in July 2012 approved the Proposal of
Restructuring State-owned Enterprises, with focus placed on State-owned
economic groups, corporations and businesses. In order to strictly implement
the Conclusion of the 6 th meeting of the Party Central Committee on continuing
rearranging, renovating and enhancing efficiency of the State-owned
enterprises, the Government is conducting the following tasks:
Enterprise classification reviews
to realign State capital, adjusting the structure of State-owned enterprises,
with a focus on key sectors, important localities, providers of essential
products and services, basic industries and high-tech-intensive sectors.
Arranging and equitising
enterprises in line with the approved plan and implementing the state
divestment process in joint stock companies outside the government’s control.
Reorganising State-owned
enterprise models, applying advanced administration and transparency in all
activities of State-owned enterprises in criteria of listed companies.
Placing State-owned enterprises
in an equal and competitive environment with a variety of other business types.
Applying the mechanisms of State
orders and market-based book-keeping to enterprises that assist macro
regulations and implement social welfare.
On the issue of restructuring
credit agencies, the Prime Minister approved the Proposal on Restructuring
Credit Institutions with a concrete roadmap to achieve a goal of establishing a
system of credit organs that are characterised by diversity of ownership,
scales, models, safe and effective performance and competitiveness with
market-driven operation, and in accordance with international principles and
standards. In the 2011-2015 period, there will be emphasis on a healthy
financial performance, enhanced capacity, and improved safety and efficiency of
credit organisation operations.
The Government will continue to
develop the management criteria that credit organisations operate to meet
international standards, improve inspection and supervision of their
operations, and punish any illegal acts to ensure the safety of the system.
At the session, NA deputies sent
with 247 questions to the Prime Minister and Cabinet members - 11 questions
were directed at the PM.
In the past two days, Deputy PM
Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Deputy PM Nguyen Thien Nhan and seven ministers participated
in the question-and-answer session.
VietNamNet/Vietnam Plus
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