NA deputies discuss measures to improve Vietnam’s economic quality and competitiveness

Delegates clarified both achievements and challenges that need to be resolved by the end of the year to complete the socio-economic development targets in 2018, while discussing the impacts to the economy and sustainability of economic growth, as well as measures to curb inflation, promote exports, attract foreign investment and facilitate scientific and technological advances to increase labour productivity.

Stating that there are still a number of problems in boosting growth quality and labour productivity and changing the economic structure, the NA deputies suggested that the Government and relevant authorities assess, analyse, forecast and provide timely solutions and policies against domestic developments that suffer from the economic impacts in the region and around the world.

One of the key solutions proposed by the NA deputies was maintaining economic restructuring to streamline the State sector and open up resources to boost the private sector’s development, while ensuring economic efficiency in terms of the market mechanism.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh speaks during the NA discussion on October 27. (Photo: NDO/Duy Linh)

During the Saturday afternoon session, several cabinet members clarified the issues raised by NA deputies at the morning discussion. Minister of Industry and Trade, Tran Tuan Anh, said that, in recent years, domestic enterprises have made positive progress in reducing the export growth gap compared to foreign invested enterprises. Appropriate policies from the State have helped to create a link between the FDI sector and the domestic business sector, especially the formation of auxiliary industry groups linked with foreign invested enterprises.

Minister of Planning and Investment, Nguyen Chi Dung, affirmed that the Government concurred with the delegates' comments on the dual objectives of the Vietnamese economy in the future, which is to maintain economic stability and ensure the rapidity of macroeconomic development. Currently, Vietnam has more than 700,000 operating enterprises. In order to achieve the target of reaching 1 million enterprises by 2020, Minister Dung said that the Government will fully boost the implementation of support policies in the next two years in accordance with the Law on Support to Small and Medium Enterprises, while creating more favourable business environment for enterprises to access production inputs and encourage the development of multiple big enterprises to be the "leaders" in creating a spillover in the business community.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue clarifies several issues raised by the NA deputies during the discussion on October 27. (Photo: NDO/Duy Linh)

Deputy Prime Minister, Vuong Dinh Hue, affirmed that, in the past few years, Vietnam's economy has grown comprehensively in all three sectors of agriculture, industry and service. Labour productivity also rose with the fastest pace of growth in the region, at an average increase of 5.62% in the past three years, exceeding the growth rate of 4.3% five years ago and exceeding the target set at 5% in this NA’s term. However, Deputy PM Hue also frankly pointed to several problems, especially the low quality of economic growth that has not yet met the requirements.

According to the senior government official, in order to remove the above obstacles, the Government will continue to consistently implement the core policy on economic restructuring acceleration, transformation of growth models, productivity improvement and increased economic efficiency and competitiveness. He revealed that the Prime Minister has directed to develop a national programme on increasing labour productivity and urged for the effective implementation of the programme, with special emphasis on market development factors.