Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung speaks at the event (Source: http://baochinhphu.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – Positivesocio-economic signs in the first months of 2018 have made economist optimisticabout the Vietnamese economy’s outlook for the whole year as well as until 2020.
At a conference inHanoi on May 15 on the Vietnamese economy’s outlook for 2018 and to 2020, Ministerof Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung highlighted the good socio-economicperformance in the first months of 2018, especially a GDP growth of 7.38percent, the highest rise of the first quarter in 10 years. The macro-economywas kept stable, and inflation was under control.
The average consumerprice index (CPI) in the first four months of 2018 rose 2.8 percent. Themonetary market and the banking system remained stable with the system’sliquidity ensured, he said.
The Minister addedthat disbursement of foreign direct investment was estimated at 5.1 billionUSD, up 6.3 percent. The number of newly-established enterprises was over41,200 with combined capital of about 412 trillion VND.
Total import-exportrevenue in the period was estimated to hit 73.76 billion USD, a rise of 19percent year on year, with a trade surplus of about 3.39 billion USD.
The country also sawits ranking enhanced in many fields, including business environment,competitiveness and innovation.
“These are good signs,especially when the domestic and world economic situations have posed positiveimpacts on the country’s economy,” stated the minister.
He added that domesticreform policies have begun to show their good effects, while free tradeagreements and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-PacificPartnership (CPTPP) are expected to bring positive effects.
“There are manyreasons for us to believe in the growth prospects of the Vietnamese economy inthe rest of the years and the years to come,” stressed Dung.
President of theVietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE) Nguyen Mai heldthat foreign investment (FDI) has played an important role in the Vietnameseeconomy. Last year, the FDI disbursement reached a record figure of 17.5billion USD.
He predicted that FDI disbursementthis year may hit 19 billion USD.
Meanwhile, WarrickCleine, President and General Director of KPMG Vietnam asserted that foreigninvestors are becoming more confident in the Vietnamese economy.
A number of forecastsof international organisations put the country’s average GDP growth in the2018-2020 at around 6.85 percent and even 7 percent in some years.
However, Minister Dungsaid the Vietnamese Government has been highly aware of the possible impacts bythe economy’s internal problems and outside influence.
The country aims forfast and sustainable economic growth on the basis of making full use of humankind’sscience-technology advances, especially from the 4.0 industrial revolution, towardsthe goal of a modern industrialized country with an advanced market economy.
Minister Dung alsohighlighted the need for joint efforts of all sectors at all levels as well asall economic players in maintaining the growth trend not only in 2018 but infollowing years.-VNA
VNA
