Trust and Hope (24/4)
24/04/2012 - 14 Lượt xem
Positive but unstable changes
In
the Mekong Delta, farmers had a good winter-spring rice crop. In the
first three months of 2012, the export value of the whole country
continued to grow and the trade deficit remained at its lowest level
compared with the same period of the previous years. The number of
foreign tourists to Vietnam continued to increase. The disbursement of
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Official Development Assistance
(ODA) capital approximately equaled the result of the same period in
2011. The amount of committed ODA loans for Vietnam, especially
Japanese ODA, was high. Thanks to such positive changes, major tasks
outlined by the Government, i.e. curbing inflation, maintaining
macroeconomic stability and ensuring social security, have been
implemented with good initial results.
However,
many experts analyzed that in the first four months of 2012 the growth
of the Vietnamese economy remained unstable and there were not many
prospects for successful implementation of the 2012 Socioeconomic
Development Plan improved by the National Assembly. Some positive
policy changes which were made recently in the field of finance and
banking have not been realized. While the number of newly established
businesses and their registered capital decreased compared with the
same period last year, a large number of companies have announced
bankruptcy; while most domestic companies are struggling with lots of
difficulties, especially the debts between banks and companies
(outstanding debts have amounted to over VND128.78 trillion or US$5.85
billion, and that includes a considerable amount of bad debts).
In
the opinion of many experts, it's now the time to loosen financial and
monetary policies in order to help businesses, including real-estate
companies, overcome difficulties and improve their operations.
Some
questions have been raised. Will Vietnam be able to curb inflation at a
single-digit rate in 2012 and realize the economic growth target of
about six percent set for the year? Will industrial production revive
and a high export growth rate be maintained as in the recent period?
Minimizing inertia
At
this point of time and in the current context, perhaps even the most
optimistic people cannot say for sure that Vietnam will realize basic
goals of its 2012 Socioeconomic Development Plan. This is attributed to
stagnant implementation of economic policies and solutions.
The
approving of investment projects using the State budget, also known as
public investment projects, in 2012 is an example. Under the
Government's guidelines, this process should have basically finished on
March 31, but in fact up to that point of time, many ministries,
sectors and localities had not sent a single report to the Ministry of
Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance so that the two
ministries could present a summary to the Prime Minister for approval,
meaning capital allocation decisions can not yet be made. Approving
public investment projects is not a new task and it must be done in the
first three months of each year. However, reality shows that this task
has never been finished on time. Moreover, the implementation of public
investment projects, especially at the stage of compensation for site
clearance, is very slow.
The
four percent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth that Vietnam gained in
the first quarter of 2012 was a worrisome result because it was the
result of a decline in industrial production and construction. To
improve the situation, businesses not only need capital assistance but
also have to sell outstanding inventories. If this inertia remains, it
will be difficult to improve the situation in the remaining three
quarters of this year.
Recalling the spirit of Liberation Day and May Day
Thirty-seven
years have passed since the country was fully liberated and reunified.
On April 30, 1975, every Vietnamese citizen was brimful of spirit of
victory, confidence and national pride despite numerous difficulties
they had to cope with in everyday life. Today, it is believed that if
Vietnamese people work with their spirit of 37 years ago, they will be
able to succeed in efforts to bring into life economic policies and
solutions proposed by the Government.
For
more than 25 years of renovation and open-door policies initiated by
the Communist Party of Vietnam, the country has gained historical
achievements, improved its position on the international arena and made
remarkable progress in socioeconomic development. However, Vietnam must
bring into play these results and draw lessons from the past in order
to boost all-faceted development of the country in the new context.
Right
now each business and each organization must strengthen their human
resources and renovate the way they think and act so that they can
contribute to effectively promoting the country's sustainable
development, opening a new, brighter page in its history./.
Source: VEN.
Source: VEN.
