Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung heard suggestions on Vietnam 'sdevelopment from more than 30 scientists and economists at a meetingheld in Hanoi on Mar. 25.
Dung said the Governmentwill continue to focus on curbing inflation, stabilising themacroeconomy and ensuring social security and drastic measures willbe taken to meet its targets for this year.
Scientists andeconomists said the country will have to make a concerted effort to cutinflation to a single-digit level and achieve a growth rate of 6percent this year.
They said the Government should havemeasures to help industrial production and businesses develop marketsand reduce their inventory goods.
Former minister ofPlanning and Investment Tran Xuan Gia and chairman of Viet Nam'sAssociation of Foreign Invested Enterprises Nguyen Mai said total exportturnover in the first three months this year has continued to be at thehigh level of 24.5 billion USD, representing a 27.6 percent increaseover the same period last year, despite of difficulties with thecountry's big importers including the US and EU.
They saidthe Government should enhance trade promotion activities and shouldgive loans to agricultural production, exports and small- andmedium-sized enterprises.
Senior economists Pham Chi Lanand Tran Du Lich agreed that the Government should monitor publicinvestment to ensure efficiency and reduce losses and that the realestate market must be a focus in implementing monetary policies.
They also asked the country to shift from a processing industry into anindustry that applies technology to improve the competitiveness of itsgoods.
In the context of a discussion on controversialideas on tax and fee policies, former Governor of the State Bank of VietNam (SBV) Cao Sy Kiem said policies should be carefully calculated toreduce difficulties for businesses, especially SMEs.
SBV'sformer Governor Le Duc Thuy proposed taking measures to reduce taxpressure on businesses to make them feel at ease accessing loans forinvestment.
Thuy suggested carefully resolving issues ofbank liquidity and continuing to lower interest rates, advocating strictcontrol over lending interest rates at commercial banks and harshpunishments for exceeding the ceiling interest rate.
Interms of economic restructuring, economist Le Dang Doanh and former headof the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and RuralDevelopment Luu Bich Ho proposed enhancing the application of scienceand technology to agricultural development.
Scientists andeconomists also asked the Government to pay attention to issues ofjobs, income, industrial development, foodstuff collection and socialorder and security.
At the meeting, SBV's Governor NguyenVan Binh and minister of Finance Vuong Dinh Hue also consulted with thespecialists about liquidity, interest rates, capital access, bad debts,the stock market, monetary policies and market prices.-VNA