Cabinet meeting discusses ways to ease business difficulties

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung chaired the monthly Cabinet meeting in Hanoi over March 28–29 to review the month’s socio-economic issues and the progress made in the first quarter of this year.

March’s consumer price index (CPI) fell 0.19 percent from the previous month, breaking the seven-month streak of consecutive CPI increases caused by insufficient supply, slow domestic consumption, and large inventories.

Cabinet members acknowledged the socio-economic situation in March was far from perfect and the 4.89 percent economic growth rate was underwhelming.

Photo: (VGP)

But March’s low inflation rate, positive credit growth, rising foreign currency reserves, and stable exchange rates indicate signs of economic recovery that encourage optimism.

Regarding the real estate market, cabinet members asked relevant agencies to implement low-cost housing purchase and credit support measures as soon as possible. Other priorities for the sector include introducing social housing development policies and facilitating Vietnamese housing purchases by eligible foreigners.

PM Dung underscored the need to adopt proper mechanisms and policies for low-income earners to buy houses through long-term loans with low interest rates.

The lingering challenges confronting the national economy can be seen in the comparatively lower March growth rates reported by the agro-fishery-forestry, industrial, and construction sectors.

Businesses still struggle to access credit capital. Commercial bank restructuring, bad debt resettlement, and the property market are resolving more slowly than ideal.

It is imperative to take simultaneous measures to stabilize the macro economy, control inflation, maintain growth recovery, improve the business environment, and create favourable conditions for investors and businesses. All economic sectors are urged to involve themselves in boosting socio-economic development, Cabinet members said.

PM Dung asked ministries, sectors, and localities to implement the Government’s macroeconomic stabilization resolutions without hesitation. These measures are crucial to maintaining the economic growth rate at 5.5 percent in 2013 and finishing the year with a lower inflation rate than in 2012.

Government leaders also stressed the importance of intensifying promoting investment, expanding export markets, protecting monetary policy flexibility, and agreeing on a roadmap for lowering lending interest rates.

Appropriate incentive policies should be used to attract additional foreign investment, prioritise the all-important high-tech sectors and support industries, accelerate the disbursement of ODA funding, and increase the efficiency of State budget sourced capital flows and government bonds, he said.

Dung added economic restructuring cannot be delayed. Social welfare must be bolstered while thrift needs to triumph over waste and unnecessary spending. Cabinet members also used the meeting to debate the Government’s draft decree on the establishment, organization, and operations of the Vietnam Asset Management Company, as well as the Draft Law on People’s Police (revised).