NA sets 6.7 percent GDP growth target for 2016

Hanoi (VNA) – The National Assembly approved a resolution on the socio-economic development plan for 2016, which sets the goal of a 6.7 percent increase in gross domestic product (GDP), on November 10.

Maintaining macro-economic stability, striving for a higher economic growth rate, and improving growth quality for sustainable development continue to be the main targets for next year.

The National Assembly urges accelerating the implementation of strategic breakthroughs and economic restructuring in line with growth model renovation, while continuing to improve living conditions and social welfare.

Other goals set by the resolution include keeping the consumer price index growth below 5 percent while increasing the import-export turnover by 10 percent with the trade deficit of below 5 percent.

Total social development investment should be equal to 31 percent of GDP, and the rate of energy consumption per one GDP unit should be cut by 1.5 percent compared to the figure in 2015.

The rate of household poverty according to multi-dimensional poverty standards is expected to decrease by 1.3-1.5 percent, while the urban unemployment rate will be kept under 4 percent and the skilled labour rate be raised to 53 percent.

The health insurance coverage will be 76 percent, the forest coverage - 41 percent, and 85 percent of the industrial and processing zones should have environmentally-friendly wastewater treatment system.

The NA resolution also requests ministries, sectors and localities to effectively use natural resources, proactively carry out measures to protect the environment, deal with disasters and adapt to climate change.

Efforts should be made to intensify administrative reform, enhance the efficiency of State management, while boosting corruption and wastefulness prevention, strengthening defence security and social order and safety, and firmly safeguarding national sovereignty.

The legislature also requires the Government to take flexible and efficient monetary and financial policies, maintain suitable interest rate, exchange rate and credit growth, address bad debt effectively, and control public debt, Government debt and foreign debt strictly.

Notably, the NA asks for the building of a legal framework to ensure the centralised State procurement in 2016, and the acceleration of state-owned enterprise restructuring, especially those involved in agriculture and forestry.-VNA