(Photo: VNA)
HCM City (VNA)-The country’s economy is continuing to recover but at a slow and unsustainable pace, with no remarkable changes in growth model, economists said at a conference held in Ho Chi Minh City on November 11.
Despite a growth rate of 6.8 percent in Quarter 3, the growth of key sectors is slowing down, trade deficit has returned and public debt increases, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Cung, President of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) highlighted.
He added that the economy is vulnerable to regional and global economic fluctuations.
Regarding banking operation management, Nguyen Thi Hong, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) said the banking system faces challenges in ensuring sufficient capital for enterprises whose operations mainly rely on loans from banks.
She underscored that credit policies in 2016 will give priority to agriculture and high-technology industries while ensuring effective use of capital and addressing difficulties for enterprises and localities.
In addition, the SBV will implement comprehensive monetary tools, control inflation rates and protect the value of domestic currency to create trust among enterprises and local people, Hong said.
At the conference, participants agreed that foreign investment into Vietnam will continue to increase in 2016 in anticipation of free trade agreements (FTAs), but without suitable policy adjustment, foreign-invested enterprises, not domestic ones, will benefit from the FTAs.
They agreed that Vietnam not only needs strong reforms but also should accelerate the pace of reform in order to meet the requirements of international economic integration.-VNA
