The Government held a regular meeting to discuss the socio-economic situation.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc chaired the meeting.

The Government will discuss the socio-economic situation in May and the first five months of 2019; the situation of promulgating documents detailing laws; the draft Decree regulating the organization of specialized agencies at provincial and district levels; the development of a draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam; the pilot expansion of autonomy of a number of universities; preparations for the question-and-answer session of leaders and members of the Government at the 7th Session of the 14th National Assembly and a number of other important issues.

The socio-economic situation in May and the first 5 months of 2019 continued to have positive changes (except for the agricultural sector which is facing difficulties). In particular, the processing and manufacturing industry played a key role in leading the overall growth of the entire industry with the production index in May increasing the highest in the past 5 years. Trade and service activities continued to increase quite well, the supply of goods on the market was abundant, meeting production and consumption needs. People's lives continued to improve.

Macroeconomic stability continues. CPI in May 2019 increased by 0.49% compared to April; Average CPI in the first 5 months increased by 2.74% compared to the same period last year, the lowest average increase in the first 5 months of the year in the past 3 years.

Trade and service activities were vibrant, total demand continued to increase strongly; total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue increased by 11.6%. Vietnam continued to be an attractive destination for international tourists, with nearly 7.3 million international arrivals (6.7 million in the same period last year), an increase of 8.8%.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) continues to flourish, making our country a reliable investment destination. Realized FDI capital reached 7.3 billion USD, up 7.8% over the same period; newly registered capital and additional capital reached over 9 billion USD, up more than 27%.

Exports reached over 100 billion USD, up 6.7%; the good news is that the domestic sector increased by 11.6%, higher than the FDI sector. Nearly 54,000 new businesses were registered, up 3.2% in number of businesses and 29.6% in registered capital; nearly 20,000 businesses returned to operation, up over 48%.

However, in addition to the achieved results, there are still limitations and shortcomings, both internal and external. Agricultural, forestry and fishery production faces many difficulties and challenges. African swine fever is quite complicated. Disbursement of public investment capital has not improved. Trade deficit is large in May 2019.