Government reports on economy restructure, public debt

According to the Government report on the economic restructuring plan during the 2016-20 period, the plan has an overall target of restructuring the economy linked to the shifting growth model, focusing on improving the effectiveness of the distribution and use of development resources, through which a more reasonable and dynamic economic structure with higher productivity, higher competitiveness, bigger growth potential and ensuring sustainable, clean and green growth.

The restructure will focus on developing the domestic private sector and foreign direct investment attraction; restructuring the State sector; restructuring the finance market; modernising the planning of economic sectors and economic regions towards increasing productivity, quality, efficiency in connection with promoting international integration; and restructuring the markets of important products, including the land use rights market, labour force market and science and technology market.

To achieve the targets, the plan put forth key tasks, including improving the business environment and supporting the development of the private sector; resolutely equitising and withdrawing State capital following approved plans; completing public investment mechanism; restructuring agencies providing public services; speeding up the handling of bad debts; expanding the scale, number and quality of investors and products and improving the efficient operation of the stock market and the securities market; modernising planning tasks; encouraging the expansion of safety standard production models to ensure quality of farm products; and developing and restructuring prioritised economic sectors.

In the report on public debt management during 2016-2020, the Government proposes to increase the cap on Government debt from 50 percent to 55 percent of GDP. However, the NA Committee on Finance and Budget said, after examining the Government report, that because the State budget still faces many difficulties and national financial security was not firm enough, so a rate of 53 percent could be considered but it should be reduced to 50 percent by 2020.

The Government report on mid-term public investment plan sets a target of maximising the attraction and effectively using investment capital sources to develop the economy and complete basic infrastructure systems for the implementation of the socio-economic development strategies during 2011-2020 and during 2016-2020.

Total social investment capital during the 2016-2020 period is estimated at VND9.12-9.75 quadrillion (US$408-435 billion), equivalent to 32-34 percent of GDP, including 2 quadrillion VND from the State budget, accounting for 20.5 percent.

Public investment will focus on 14 key sectors, including agro-forestry, fishery and irrigation; industrial sector; transport; education and training; information technology; science and technology; natural resources and environment and healthcare and food safety and hygiene.

The Government report on medium-term investment capital said total medium-term investment capital from the State budget during the 2016-20 period is estimated at VND2 quadrillion.

Capital distribution will target national target programmes on building new rural areas and sustainable poverty reduction and key socio-economic development projects, prioritising projects on agricultural restructure, development of satellite hospitals, climate change adaptation and natural disaster prevention and control.