Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (Photo: VNA)Addressing the conference between theGovernment’s Standing Board and ministries, sectors, economic groups andcorporations, the PM noted that in order to realise the aforesaid target, thegrowth in the six remaining months of this year must be at a high level of 7.42percent.
He stressed that this is an importantpolitical task of all sectors, especially agriculture, industry, construction,processing and manufacturing.
[National Assembly targets 6.7-percent GDP growth in 2017]
According to the Ministry of Planning andInvestment, the surging GDP in the second quarter raised the January-Junegrowth rate to 5.73 percent. The service sector made the biggest contributionto the overall growth (2.59 percentage points), particularly in wholesale,retail, accommodation, catering, finance, banking, insurance, and real estate.
The total volume of international tourists toVietnam in the period was 7.42 million, a year-on-year rise of 28.8 percent.While the mining industry suffered from a sharp decline, the agriculture,forestry and fishery sectors have recovered with a growth rate of 2.65 percent.The average consumer price index (CPI) rose by 3.91 percent in the first sevenmonths, below the National Assembly’s set target of 4 percent.
To reach the goal of 6.7 percent, the GDP growthmust be at the minimum level of 7.23 percent in the third quarter and 7.57percent in the fourth quarter, the ministry estimated.
PM Phuc recognised this as a heavy task givenunpredictable regional and global developments, plus the peak of the flood andstorm season in the country.
He gave approval of measuresproposed at the meeting to extricate difficulties for businesses and improvethe investment climate.
The PM asked all sectors to act more firmly toreduce business expenses and support production in term of tax and fees, aswell as promote trade and innovation, and remove institutions that hinder thecountry’s development.
He stressed ensuring macro-economic stability isstill the top priority of the Government and asked the Ministry of Planning andInvestment to coordinate with relevant ministries and economic sectors toimprove fiscal, trade and investment management tools, curb inflation, promotegrowth, and keep a close watch on the domestic and international affairs inorder to make timely response to any arising problems.
Phuc also requested increasing individualresponsibilities in management.
The Government will hold meetings to address outstandingdifficulties for businesses and promote role of key economic regions, he said.
He suggested stimulatingdomestic consumption, creating confidence in the market, and increasinginvestment in business production, while striving to reach a credit growth of21 percent and stepping up the reshuffle of State-owned enterprises, especiallythe equitisation and divestment process in the remaining months of 2017.
The PM ordered quick allocation and disbursementof funding for climate change programmes and improvement of State budgetcollection and thrift practices in all sectors and enterprises.
To obtain the export target of over 205 billionUSD in 2017 and curb trade deficit, the PM advised to increase service exports,especially in tourism, and take measures to reduce imports, improve the qualityof domestically-made products and prevent smuggling and trade frauds.-VNA
