At the regular press meeting in Hanoi on Friday, Minister-chairman of the Government Office Nguyen Xuan Phuc said efforts were being made to control market prices and stabilize the macro economy. The Government still would manage to attain an agreeable economic growth rate to secure employment and improve daily lives for residents, according to Vnexpress.

Phuc said the Government had ordered ministries to continue implementation of the Resolution 11, curbing inflation at around 15% this year, trade deficit at 16% of export value while GDP (gross domestic product) growth rate was aimed at 6%.

The figures were far below targets set by the National Assembly earlier this year, at 7% for inflation and 7% to 7.5% for GDP growth rate.

“The Government still prioritizes inflation control but revised down GDP growth rate and loosened inflation targets,” Phuc confirmed.

Vietnam’s consumer price index (CPI) soared to over 12% after the first five months of this year, while economic growth expanded just 5.6% year-on-year and trade deficit was 18% of export revenue.

At the start of last month, Minister of Planning and Investment in the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Vietnam would try to keep inflation at 11.75% and GDP growth rate at 6.5% this year.

However, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Cao Viet Sinh said a lower GDP target did not mean the Government sacrificed economic development for fighting inflation. “GDP growth rate will be kept at a reasonable level,” Sinh said.

The Government’s new targets are close to those predicted by local and international experts. Most experts forecast Vietnam’s inflation at 15% or more while GDP growth rate will be only 6% this year.

The nation this year still sees many difficulties due to global and domestic macro uncertainties. FDI (foreign direct investment) attraction between January and May stood at US$4.6 billion, or just 52% of last year’s figure, of which newly-registered capital was US$3.5 billion, equivalent to 32% in the year-ago period.

Source: Saigon Times.