Cabinet members seek ways to attain whole year’s growth target

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Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the Government reported to the National Assembly that the growth rate in Q4 must be between 7.1 and 7.3% so as to reach an expansion of 6.3 – 6.5% for the whole 2016. 

A failure to reach the growth target, revised from the original 6.7% target, will also affect public debt, he said, asking the Cabinet members to have in-depth discussion to devise appropriate solutions. 

He noted that the consumer price index (CPI) in October increased by 0.83% from the previous month, meaning the 10-month CPI was already 4% compared to December 2015. Meanwhile, the National Assembly set the maximum target index for this year at 5%. 

Ministries and localities must take actions to control inflation within the set target, ensure macro-economic stability and fuel growth, PM Phuc said. 

Vietnam recently climbed to the 82nd position among 190 economies in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2017 report, up nine notches from the 91st place last year. That is an encouraging progress, he said. 

Though many sub-indexes increased significantly, some others declined from the previous report, including dealing with construction permits, getting credit, starting a business, and registering property. 

The PM requested ministries and sectors to find out the causes of these problems and work out countermeasures. 

He highlighted the rising number of new businesses, at 92,000 at present, and it is likely to surpass 100,000 this year. More than 20,000 companies resuming operations since the beginning of 2016 also illustrate their confidence in the market and the steering of the Government. 

However, ministries and localities have to make preparations right from this year so that economic growth in Q1 of 2017 won’t slow down as it used to be for many years, PM Phuc added. 

He stressed Vietnam aims to have its investment climate comparable to that of the four other ASEAN countries of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines in 2017. To that end, all relevant shortcomings must be addressed immediately. 

In October, the Government successfully organised the biggest diplomatic events of the year: the 8th Cooperation Summit of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV 8); the 7th Ayeyawady – Chao Phraya – Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) Summit; and the World Economic Forum on the Mekong region. 

Through these, Vietnam showed its role and standing in the region and the world, leaving good impression on the participants, the Cabinet chief said, considering them as good experience for the country to prepare for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit next year. 

At the morning session of the Government’s meeting, officials discussed institutional building. They are set to look into the socio-economic situation with reports on economic growth and inflation control later.