Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the Government's monthly meeting on July 31 (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has reiteratedthe Government’s resolve to control inflation, noting that although theconsumer price index (CPI) in July fell slightly from the previous month, thepressure for inflation hike remains considerable.
The PM was chairing the Government’s monthlymeeting in Hanoi on July 31 to review the socio-economic situation in July andthe first seven months of 2018.
He said the socio-economic situation in July wasbetter than in June when inflation was controlled well with the CPI down 0.09percent after surging in the two previous months.
Though there remains an array of difficulties,PM Phuc asserted the Government will try to keep this year’s inflation within 4percent as targeted by the National Assembly. Core inflation (CPI excluding freshfood, energy, and State-managed services such as health care and education) hasjust risen by 1.36 percent in seven months.
Stressing the need to have more measures to reinin inflation, he noted the big pressure for inflation increase as a result ofhigher interest rates in the world market, exchange rates and prices ofessential goods, especially amid a trade war between China and the US.
Highlighting other positive economic figures,the Cabinet leader said industrial production expanded strongly by 14.3 percentin July, including a 16.6-percent increase in processing and manufacturing.
Other indices like retail sales of consumergoods and services, the number of international arrivals, foreign directinvestment, budget revenue and exports also posted good growth. Notably,exports had approximated 134 billion USD as of mid-July, leading to tradesurplus of 3.1 billion USD. Nearly 80,000 new businesses have been set up while18,700 firms have resumed operations so far this year.
With encouraging socio-economic signs, manyinternational organisations have projected good economic outlook for Vietnam,he said, noting that the Asian Development Bank forecast this year’s GDP growthrate at 7.1 percent while Standard Chartered predicted this figure at 7 percentand inflation at around 4 percent.
However, PM Phuc also pointed to manyshortcomings along with challenges to the economy, including the complexflooding situation. He asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Developmentand relevant agencies to take stronger measures to manage reservoirs and damsand study the lesson of the recent hydropower dam collapse in Laos.
Expressing his worry about the slow equitisationof State-owned enterprises, he blamed many ministries, sectors and localitiesfor not being drastic enough and requested them to accelerate this work. Henoted that the Government will hold a national conference on State-ownedenterprises in the time ahead.
Regarding the national high school examinationcheating in some localities, he said these scandals have greatly influenced thepublic trust. He demanded the whole political system and relevant agencies todeal with this problem thoroughly.
In terms of scrap import into Vietnam – anotherpublic concern, the PM said the Cabinet’s standing members had met to discussand issue directions on this issue with the determination of not turningVietnam into a dumping site of the world. He added that the public securitysector has been assigned to investigate and launch criminal proceedings againstimporters abandoning imported scrap to avoid responsibility.
In its routine meeting, Government members willfocus on policies and institutional building on July 31 and look into thesocio-economic situation on August 1.-VNA
VNA
