The Government discussed solutions to promote economic growth.

Representatives of ministries and branches proposed key solutions to promote growth: boosting exports and increasing disbursement of capital for basic construction.

Continuing the regular October Government meeting, this afternoon (October 29), Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc chaired a discussion on solutions to boost growth from now until the end of the year and the first quarter of 2017. The two key solutions proposed by many representatives of ministries and branches are to boost exports and accelerate disbursement of capital for basic construction.

The report of the Ministry of Planning and Investment shows that, despite many difficulties due to the impact of storms, floods and natural disasters, the socio-economic situation has generally changed positively. The business environment continues to improve, foreign investment capital has increased with registered capital of 12.7 billion USD.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc chairs the regular Government meeting in October 2016. (Photo: VGP)

The challenges are that inflation is already at 4%, compared to the target set by the National Assembly of 5% for the whole year. The main reason for the CPI increase is that the prices of medicines and medical services have been adjusted twice, increasing by more than 10%; the price of gasoline has also been adjusted twice. The Ministry of Planning and Investment forecasts that the CPI for the whole year will increase by 4.7 - 5%.

According to the Ministry, the possibility of economic growth this year reaching 6.3% is within reach. However, to achieve a higher growth target, ministries and local sectors must make great efforts in the fourth quarter.

Proposing a solution for growth through boosting exports, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said that this October the Vietnam-Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement will take effect, opening up opportunities for Vietnam's export products from now until the end of the year as well as in 2017. Along with that is exploiting the Chinese and Cambodian markets well.

“In the last two months of the year, there needs to be drastic solutions to promote exports. This will include stepping up exploitation of the Chinese market. This is a potential market with room for growth and specific conditions for implementation, such as fruit, pork, milk, etc. In addition, there is a solution to promote bilateral trade between Vietnam and Cambodia that has just been signed, supporting businesses to enjoy import tax rates of 0% to Cambodia for 29 items, including milk, cream, cassava starch, meat products, plastics, etc.,” Minister Tran Tuan Anh stated his opinion.

Sharing this view, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said that there is still room to boost exports, including seafood, vegetables, fruits, and pork. The advantage is that most industrial crop products have increased in price, such as cashew, pepper, rubber, and coffee. What needs to be done in the coming time is to continue to promote the exploitation of effective export markets such as Europe, Japan, and South Korea.

Regarding the issue of disbursement of capital for basic construction, Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung said that the disbursement of some ministries and branches did not meet the progress, affecting the growth target of 6.7%. Therefore, it is necessary to review solutions to promote disbursement, including Resolution 60 of the Government.

“We have Resolution 60, but we need to carefully review the contents, especially the contents related to adjusting policy mechanisms, including laws. Today, it is already late to approve opinions on the investment portfolio and plan for 2017. By October 31, the 2017 projects should have been approved according to the provisions of the Law on Public Investment. But now we have not allocated details, the investment portfolio is not clear, so it is possible that 2017 will be stuck again,” Minister Dinh Tien Dung stated.

Concluding the meeting, the Prime Minister pointed out that the socio-economic situation had many positive points when 11/13 targets assigned by the National Assembly were achieved and exceeded the plan. However, ministries, branches and localities must continue to implement solutions to promote growth in the last two months of the year and the first quarter of 2017. One of the solutions the Prime Minister requested ministries, branches and localities to resolutely implement is to implement Resolution 60 of the Government and promote disbursement of capital for basic construction.

“Local ministries and branches need to focus on disbursing all assigned capital, especially newly added capital, and strengthen inspection and supervision. Any projects that by September 2016 have disbursed less than 30% of the plan must resolutely transfer capital to 2017. The Minister of Health must report to the Prime Minister on the investment progress of 5 central hospitals. Ho Chi Minh City must report on the progress of two central hospitals before November 20, 2016. How can growth be achieved with tens of thousands of billions lying around?”, the Prime Minister pointed out.

Another important solution that the Prime Minister requested ministries and sectors to implement is to continue to boost exports from now until the end of the year. The good news is that the agricultural sector has had positive results, with this year expected to reach 31 billion USD, with a trade surplus of 7-8 billion USD, helping agriculture avoid falling into negative growth. The next step is for localities and ministries to export more products to more markets.

“Ministries and sectors must review procedures to boost exports. I suggest that after this conference, the Ministry of Industry and Trade coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to pay attention to the ASEAN market, as exports to this market are currently too low. While Thailand and some countries such as Malaysia and Singapore pay close attention to the ASEAN market, the two-way trade between Vietnam and ASEAN has decreased significantly. Down 7.6%. Especially when interviewing people and businesses about what the ASEAN community is and what the main pillars are, most people and businesses have little idea. If this step is not done well, Thai retailers will all enter Vietnam and we will fail right at home,” the Prime Minister stated.

At this meeting, the Prime Minister also requested ministries, branches and localities to save expenses, especially at the end of the year, for activities such as receiving guests, meetings, domestic and foreign business trips, festivals and using public vehicles.

According to VOV