Law makers have expressed concerns about signs of stagnation in the national economy despite positive results from the handling of inflation and deficit reduction at the ongoing 12th session of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on October 16.

Discussing of the country's socio-economic and State budget in 2012 and plans for 2013, the deputies said the Government should declare comprehensive measures and policies promote the economic restructuring process and reform of growth models.

They also agreed that the Government should continue to control inflation, macroeconomic stability and flexibility in monetary policy management.

They said they felt priorities should be helping enterprises reduce amounts of surplus stock, handling stagnant debts from state invested projects and speeding up the disbursement process of State budget capital projects.

The Government estimates that economic growth will increase by 5-5.5 percent this year, below the NA target, while CPI will reach the 8 percent goal by the end of 2012.

Macroeconomic stability and inflation has been controlled but the risk of high inflation sill remains, according to NA Economic Committee Chairman Nguyen Van Giau.

Unreasonable management and slack monitoring of market activities in a number of areas have stunted consumer confidence, exacerbated by increased medical and education fees nationwide, which have pushed the CPI ever higher, Giau said.

The Government report said only 10 out of 15 socio-economic targets set by the NA will be met or exceeded.

Five others are forecast to fall short including GDP growth rate; rate of gross investment capital for society development compared to GDP; job creation; poverty reduction; and forest recovery rates. The majority of failed targets are those that are vital indicators of economic sustainability in the medium to long term.

The deputies said that pressure to meet future targets will increase due to the growth rate shortfall, as well as the sub-par job creation and poverty reduction figures.

Next year, the Government is aiming for GDP growth of 5.5 percent, a CPI increase of 7-8 percent and trade deficit at roughly 8 percent of total export turnover. Budget deficit is aimed to be below 4.8 percent of the country's GDP; with 1.6 million jobs being created and the national poverty rate falling by 2 percent.-VNA