* Positive social-economical improvements
During discussion on the social and economical status of June and the first 6 months of the year 2012, members of the Government had concluded that the social and economical status continued to wintness positive improvements, on the right track and rounded achievements had been obtained in these respective fields. Accordingly, concerning about prices and inflation, due to strict and systematic application of inflation controlling tools such as tightening the monetary policies, stringent managing of spending and reducing governmental budget deficit, decreasing investment an increasing productivity of public investment…prices growth rate has shown signs of deceleration since July2011 and continued on in the first 6 months of 2012. Compared with December 2011, CPI in June 2012 increased by 2.52% and 6.9% comparing with the same period in 2011. This has brought optimism in setting the targeted inflation of this year at around 7-8% and made grounds for implementing the fiscal polilcies towards aiding the development, monetary policies towards decreasing the intereat rate in the remaining months of the years.
Solutions have been carried out to lower interest rate, such as lowering the re-financing rate, rediscount rate, interbanking rate, setting deposit interest rate ceiling. Since the beginning of the year, after 3 times of adjustment, the ceiling deposit interest rate has been reduced from 14% to 9%. Lending interest rate for agriculture, export, suppoting industries has stayed stable at between 12% to 13%, inrestest rate for other businesses has been kept at 14% to 17%...The total export values is estimated to reach over 53.1 billion USD, witnessing an increase of 22.2% year over year.
Concerning the targeted growth rate, due to the need to control inflation, stabilize the macroeconomics, it has slowed down in the first 6 months of the year, lower than the one of the same period last year and the targeted growth rate, but has shown signs of recovery in the second quarter (GDP of the first quarter in 2012 reached 4%, the second quarter in 2012 reached 4.66%). Collectively, GDP growth rate of the first 6 months of 2012 reached 4.38%.
During the first months of the year, the industry has been confronted with many difficulties because of costly input and high interest rate, slow consumption, lofty amount of inventory…However, thanks to strict implementation of settling methods in order to improve production, business status, industrial manufacturing in the last 4 months has witnessed a turnaround and a noticeable improvement, especially processing industry. Agriculture, forestry, fishery business have all sustainably developed at 3.8%, of which agriculture contributed 3%, forestry 5.7%, fishery 5.8%...
Relating the implementation of social benefits and welfare, all levels, departments have actively carried out those social benefits and welfare about financial support for the minorities to settle down and start developing production; quick and sustainable poverty reduction in poor provinces; social support (regular provison of social support for more than 2.3 million people who are eligible); vocational education for rural areas; minimum wage adjustment…Besides, the maintaining process of traffic order and safety has positively been secured. YoY, in the first 6 months of 2012, the number of traffic accidents decreased by 21.6%, the number of road casualty reduced by 16.7% and the number of the wounded went down by 21.6%.
In addition to the reassurance of obtained goals, members of the Government also straightforwardly acknowledge that there are still problems, challenges in the economy and society, of which, distinctively emerge the issue of lower economical growth rate YoY; drawbacks in the field of business, companies finding it hard to approach financial support due to high interest rate and harsh conditions; unsold inventory index remaining high; the increase in business dissolution and shutdown...
* Macroeconomics stability - the foundation for sustaining momentum and sustainable development
Placing the stress on macroeconomics stability and its role as the foundation and a decisive factor, many members of the Government said that in addition to the focus on solving problems for the business sector, suppoting the market, there was the need for unity in implementing the inflation control tools, macroeconomics stabilizing, securing social welfare, gradual restructuring of the economy towards higher productivity, effectiveness and competitiveness to obtain the optimal results of those set economical and social development targets in 2012.
Addressing the difficulties and challenges facing agricultural sector, in which there are the issue of finding market for many products such as rice, rubber, tra fish (pangasius) …and the widespread epidemic, causing huge losses, Minister of the Agriculture and Rural development Ministry Cao Duc Phat suggested that the Government should have supporting policies in restructuring debts, refinancing; appropriate policy supporting those suffering from loss caused by the epidemic…he also stated that provinces should take more active actions in implementing preventive methods for going against diseases on plants an animals, ensuring food safety and protecting forests…
Specifically stating that the inventory index tends to go down, Minister of the Industrial and commercial ministry Vu Huy Hoang, Minster of Planning an Investment ministry Bui Quang Vinh pointed out that there were still the urge to efficiently and cooperatively carry out solutions in order to promote the consumption of inventory through trade promotion both domestically and internationally. Additionally, solutions should also be given out to make rooms for stimulating production for those advantageous fields, products such as agriculture, processing industry, supporting industry, high quality services and tourism; solutions should as well be established to maintain high momentum of major export products, largely contributing to the implementation of export targets, creating employment chances such as rice, submarine products, textile, footwear…Close observation should be carried out about foreign exhchange market, maintaining a reasonable exchange rate, giving a hand in stabilizing the macroeconomics as well as facilitating favourable conditions for exporting.
Noticeably, members of the Government also emphasized the viewpoint that companies should be enabled to gain access to financial support from banking sector typically through strengthening loan underwriting activities; export credit insurance; giving financial priority to companies operating in agriculture, rural areas, exporting products, supporting industry, medium and small cap businesses, businesses with large number of employees…
* In cooperation and unity, striving for set goals
Leaders of central provinces and cities are highly determined in sticking to the track, implementing effectively those Resolutions set forth by the Central government, as well as the directions, monitor from the Government and the Prime Minister, in order to stay side by side with people all over the country heading towards triumphs in social and economical targets established for 2012 and the years to come, especially the target of inflation suppressing, macroeconomics stabilizing, difficulties overcoming solutions in manufacturing, business, market support, maintaining reasonable growth rate, securing social welfare…
The leaders observed that, in the recent months, the economy has shown signs of recovery; growth rate in manufacturing industry, import export, services, consumer goods has reasonably been improved; the number of business dissolution and shut down has significantly slowed down, along with many companies resuming operation; the progress of prices stabilizing, circulating goods to rural areas, trade promotion, market expansion both domestically and internationally has been smoothly performed, resulting in positive effects in inflation suppressing, supporting companies in advancing manufacturing and business operation.
Leaders of provinces, cities such as Ho Chi Minh, Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Can Tho, Lai Chau, Nghe An, Phu Yen, Gia Lai…raised their ideas and proposals to the Government, suggesting that the Government should pay close attention and direction to provinces in solving difficulties for companies so as to promote production, business, market for products; giving directional solution in stimulating the economy without vast application, causing unexpected effects to the macroeconomics stabilizing process; considering supporting 2013 budget in advance for urgent projects, construction works that are lilely to finish in 2012 to promote the set goal; controlingl, solving bad debts; quickly and flexibly adjusting standards applied to rural areas in order to punctually refect current situation and individually fit with each provinces; support provinces in migrating, relocating its citizens when building electricity projects…In addition, Government is also advised to quickly issue feasible procedures for provinces to establish credit gurantee fund for medium and small cap businesses; strengthening resources for newly rural areas development;supporting fishermen with their efforts in fisheries, earning money from the oceans; effectively controlling foreign exchange market, ensuring exchange rate being kept at favourable ratio...
* Sticking to the set goals
In the summarizing speech to sum up the meeting, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung emphasized that, with the collective efforts of the whole country, in the first 6 months on the year 2012, the social and economical status of the country has shown signs of positive improvement, on the right track, concistent with the set goals. The results are quite comprehensive in all fields especially in the field of inflation suppressing, macroeconomics stabilizing; sustaining momemtum; restructuring the economy; securing social welfare and social benefits…These accomplishments have brought hopes for better achievements in the remaining months of the year.
After assessing, analyzing the situation and the results in the first months of the year, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung stated that, during the last months of the year, the Government still held a unified viewpoint in implementing the goals set forth since the beginning of the year, no changes, adjustments were to be seen. Accordingly, priority would still be placed on inflation suppressing, macroeconomics stabilizing; these goals were not just applied for 2012 but also for the next years to come in order to create a strong foundation for maintaining growth rate and sustainable development; at the same time focuses would be on maintaining reasonable growth rate (around 5.2% - 5.7%), this must be done without causing macroeconomic unstability, resulting in high inflation; high inflation must not planned to be found in the future due to the implementation of these goals. Adhering to this direction, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung requested that the State bank of Vietnam should actively, flexibly, effectively continue with their management of monetary controlling tools, suitable with macroeconomic balances; pushing the decrease of interest rate along side with the decrease of the CPI; stabilizing the exchange rate; assessing the implemntation progress of the credit growth target of credit institutions, as well as monetary targets, credits of the whole system in order to purposefully propose practicable credit managing solutions; actively, flexibly in settling bad debts; expeditiously restructuring current debts, as well as weak commercial banks; managing interest rate in close relation with the targeted inflation (7-8%); quickly facilitating the capital flow to create an easier way for companies to approach financial support.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung also requested relevant repartments and ministries to stay focused on solving, settling problems of manufacturing sector, such as credit strengthening, disbursement of allocated budget. Credit should be prioritized for agriculture and rural areas; export goods manufacturing; supporting industries; medium and small cap businesses; business creating many jobs; maximum economizing, producing cost reduction, lowering the price, increasing competitiveness of goods; additionally, improving the quality of trade promotion, expanding market both domestically and internationally; strict control over import through technical barriers, especially for restricting agricultural products; building detailed policies and procedures to promote export business, at the same time strictly controlling the quantity of imported goods; tightening the market management system and activities, applying harsh punishment for smuggling, speculation, hoarding goods causing superficial scarcity.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung directed Finance ministry to recalculate the revenues and expenditures of the budget, avoid causing deficit for the budget; strictly controlling the budget; keeping the surplus of the budget within the allocated plot approved by the Congress; reasonably implementing fiscal policies, in close cooperation with monetary,credit policies in order to increase total demand of the economy; carrying out tax supporting solutions for eligible targets so as to promote manufacture and consumption as well as total demand of the economy contributing to the macroeconomics stabilizing and inflation suppressing process; expeditiously checking, treating reciprocal spendings in order to stimulate ODA projects; strongly obsorbing foreign investment in hinhly technological projects and factories; continuing on with the monitoring of recalculating, restructuring of state owned coporations…
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung also directed provinces, relating departments, regions to focus on disbursement of the spending on investment, especially spending from the state budget, government bonds, national objectives funding…in order to stimulate domestic demand; paying more attention to securing social benefits and welfare; effectively implementing methods to create employment chances, increase income for the labor force; supporting employment chances for those laid off by companies which reduced the scale of business, had business dissolution or shut down; paying close attention to medical status of the citizens; making medical insurance among the set economical and social objectives for 2013; at the same time improving the process of settling complaints and denunciations, disasters and epidemics prevention, food safety; strict punishment for food safety violations causing harmful effects to the health of citizens.
In addition, Prime Minister also suggested that relevant departments and ministries, provinces actively provide and direct the flow of information, communication of directions, policies, solutions relating to the respective governmental authorities empowered. Press agencies should stay highly focused on current situation of the country and its people; honestly and objectively communicate information relating all aspects of the economy and society in order to direct public opinion, resulting in consensus, contributing to the implementation of set goals in 2012 and the years to come.
During the meeting, the Government had listened to reports, discussions about the timeframe and proposals for coporate tax concessions, value added tax; solutions for the divestment of state owned companies and coporations adhering to the market machenism; draft strategy of national environmental protection 2020, visioned toward 2030; reports on proposals for Law on terrorism prevention; reports on proposals for Law on disasters avoidance and mitigation./.
Source: Viet Nam news agency
