Savings of 680 trillion VND were made for salary reform.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai

On the morning of May 20th, speaking at the opening session of the 7th session of the 15th National Assembly, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai presented a supplementary report assessing the results of socio- economic development and state budget implementation in 2023, and the situation regarding the implementation of the socio-economic development plan and state budget in the first months of 2024.

With an economy size of $430 billion, it belongs to the group of upper-middle-income countries.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, despite many difficulties in 2023, GDP increased by 5.05% (previously reported as 5%). The size of the economy reached 430 billion USD, entering the group of upper-middle-income countries.

Inflation was controlled at 3.25%, the monetary and foreign exchange markets remained basically stable, and interest rates decreased. State budget revenue reached over 1.75 trillion VND, exceeding the target by 8.2% and increasing by 133.4 trillion VND compared to the forecast.

In this context, many policies and solutions have been implemented, such as tax, fee, and land rent exemptions, reductions, and extensions totaling nearly 191,500 billion VND.

The budget deficit is approximately 3.5% of GDP, public debt is approximately 37% of GDP, and government debt is approximately 34% of GDP, significantly lower than the ceiling and warning thresholds. By the end of 2023, approximately 680,000 billion VND had been allocated to implement the new salary policy.

Total import and export turnover reached 681 billion USD; trade surplus was 28.3 billion USD.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) attracted reached $39.4 billion, with implemented FDI reaching $23.2 billion, a 3.5% increase, the highest ever.

Although the results achieved are "remarkable," the deputy prime minister acknowledged that there are still limitations and difficulties.

Economic growth has not met the set targets. Production and business activities, as well as access to credit, still face many difficulties.

The rate of labor productivity growth has not met expectations. Investment and business procedures remain cumbersome. Discipline and order are not strictly adhered to by a segment of officials and civil servants.

Despite the complex and unpredictable developments and potential risks in 2024, international organizations have assessed Vietnam's growth prospects positively. The socio-economic situation in the first few months of the year has shown positive progress and achieved many good results.

Specifically, GDP growth in the first quarter was 5.66%, the highest in the 2020-2023 period, and the average CPI for the first four months increased by 3.93%. Budget revenue reached 43.1% of the projected amount, an increase of 10.1%; export turnover increased by 15%; and the trade surplus was 8.4 billion USD.

Realized FDI reached US$6.28 billion, a 7.4% increase, the highest in the last five years. Many large corporations have committed to investing in Vietnam in the electronics, chip, semiconductor, and renewable energy sectors.

Many long-standing issues have been resolved.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, many outstanding and long-standing issues and projects have been addressed, yielding positive results. Specifically, preparations have been made to consider approving the mandatory transfer of weak banks, ensuring the safety of the system.

It is expected that the valuation of the three banks subject to mandatory acquisition will be completed and submitted to the competent authority for approval of the mandatory transfer plan in May 2024, with the mandatory transfer completed in 2024.

However, the government report acknowledges that the pressure to manage macroeconomic policies remains high, especially in controlling inflation, managing interest rates and exchange rates; credit growth remains low, and world and domestic gold prices are fluctuating sharply.

Businesses and individuals are facing numerous difficulties in their production and business activities. The real estate market is recovering slowly, and the implementation of the 120,000 billion VND social housing loan package has not met expectations.

Pointing out the causes, the Deputy Prime Minister stated that under external pressure, long-standing internal weaknesses and shortcomings of the economy have become more apparent. These include weak real estate, corporate bond, securities, and banking markets. Some officials and civil servants are still not proactive and decisive enough, and still have a mentality of avoiding responsibility, shirking their duties, and fearing accountability...

Regarding solutions, the Deputy Prime Minister stated that priority will be given to promoting growth while maintaining macroeconomic stability, controlling inflation, and ensuring major balances. This includes renewing growth drivers, continuing tax and fee exemptions and extensions, saving on expenditures, and managing the prices of goods under state control…

Continue to innovate and improve the quality of legal document drafting, promote decentralization and delegation of power, and put an end to the fear of making mistakes, avoidance, and shirking of responsibility.

Continue to simplify administrative procedures, accelerate digitalization, and substantively restructure the economy in conjunction with innovating the growth model and improving productivity…

Continue restructuring credit institutions in conjunction with handling bad debts, focusing on the mandatory transfer of weak banks. Accelerate the restructuring of industries, especially processing and manufacturing industries. Expedite the progress of important national and inter-regional transportation infrastructure projects...

TN (according to Tuoi Tre newspaper)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/tiet-kiem-duoc-680-000-ti-de-cai-cach-tien-luong-382170.html