Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has instructed ministries, agencies, and localities to finalise the allocation of the 2025 state investment plan by March 15, warning that unallocated funds will be withdrawn and reassigned to high-priority projects.
Chairing the Government’s February meeting, PM Chinh stressed the importance of expediting fund distribution to accelerate projects' progress, Minister-Chairman of the Government Office Tran Van Son said at a press conference on March 5.
Son noted that Vietnam’s socio-economic situation in the first two months of 2025 has been highly positive, with macroeconomic stability maintained, inflation under control, and key economic balances ensured.
The consumer price Index (CPI) in the period increased by 3.27% compared to the same period in 2024. State budget revenue reached 25.4% of the annual estimate, up 25.7%. The export-import turnover grew by 12%, with a trade surplus of 1.47 billion USD. Foreign direct investment (FDI) reached over 6.9 billion USD, a rise of 35.5%, while FDI disbursement hit nearly 3 billion USD, up 5.4%.
Industrial production has seen strong growth, with the index of industrial production (IIP) up 16.7% in February and 7% in the two-month period.
Disbursement of public investment capital amounted to 60.4 trillion VND, equivalent to the same period in 2024, reaching 7.32% of the planned allocation.
Additionally, Vietnam successfully hosted the ASEAN Future Forum 2025 and other high-level diplomatic events, further enhancing its international standing. Many global institutions remain optimistic about Vietnam’s economic outlook for 2025.
Challenges & key priorities
Despite these achievements, the PM and Government members also acknowledged various challenges and shortcomings, including complicated and unpredictable international developments that have continued to impact Vietnam’s economy. Institutional and legal bottlenecks are still a major obstacle to economic growth. Accessing capital and mobilising resources and accessing credit remains challenging, along with slow domestic demand recovery.
The Government leader outlined major tasks and urgent priorities, emphasising the goal of achieving a GDP growth rate of at least 8% in 2025.
He underscored the importance of the implementation of an active, flexible, timely, and effective monetary policy in harmony with an appropriate expansionary fiscal policy.
Public investment should be accelerated along with fine-tuning government bond issuance plans to secure additional capital for national key projects. Efforts should be made to increase revenue, cut down expenses and reduce taxes, fees and charges, he added.
The PM emphasised that it is crucial to ensure there is no shortage of electricity for production, business and consumption.
The Government leader also highlighted the need to revitalise traditional growth drivers, foster new ones as well as science-technology innovation and digital transformation.
Agencies were urged to expand the "Vietnamese people prioritise using Vietnamese goods" campaign with new approaches; develop visa policies tailored for key international partners, including visa exemptions for global billionaires.
Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha was assigned to hold working sessions with provinces in the Mekong Delta on rice production and exports, infrastructure development, and saline intrusion mitigation.
The PM directed localities to continue tackling long-standing issues while accelerating major initiatives such as the construction of 1 million affordable housing units, prioritising people under 35, and eliminating substandard houses./.
