Prime Minister urges promotion of new growth drivers

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highlighted the need to renew traditional growth drivers and promote new ones, especially national digital transformation, in order to bolster growth in the remaining months of 2024 and the following years, while chairing the Government’s October regular meeting on November 9.

Priority should continue to be given to promoting growth associated with maintaining macroeconomic stability, controlling inflation, and ensuring major balances of the economy. The targets include a GDP growth rate in the fourth quarter of about 7.4-7.6% to bring the whole year’s number to over 7%, controlling inflation at below 4.5%, a 15% credit growth, and an at least 15% increase in state budget revenue, Chinh stated.

He requested tireless efforts to operate the monetary policy proactively, flexibly, promptly and effectively; combine it synchronously, harmoniously and closely with a reasonable expansionary fiscal policy and other macroeconomic policies.

Attention should be paid to speeding up the implementation of public investment projects and three National Target Programmes; fostering private investment and public-private partnership; selectively attracting FDI, and having support policies to attract capital in science and technology, and innovation, particularly semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI). The Government leader urged enterprises to quickly and resolutely implement tasks to start work on the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway project in 2025 and then the Lang Son - Hanoi route.

With the viewpoint of identifying institutional reform as "a breakthrough of breakthroughs", the Prime Minister asked for accelerating the improvement of institutions and laws, and administrative procedure reform; continue removing legal obstacles and promoting decentralisation; thoroughly fix the slow issuance of detailed regulations and documents guiding law enforcement; and soon issue a decree on the establishment, management, and use of a fund supporting investment in projects on developing high-quality human resources to serve high-tech development.

Chinh also emphasised the need to ensure social welfare and better people's living conditions; build a social security network covering people from all walks of life; ensure social progress and equality with no one left behind; and take drastic actions to carry out the emulation movement to do away with temporary and dilapidated houses nationwide by 2025.

More measures should be carried out to take the initiative in ensuring a balance between labour supply and demand, especially at industrial parks and in emerging industries; strengthen national defence and security; intensify the prevention and combat of corruption, wastefulness, and other negative phenomena; and improve the effectiveness of foreign affairs and international integration.

According to the Cabinet leader, last month, the Government focused on directing ministries, sectors and localities to implement conclusions of the Party Central Committee’s 10th session; address the consequences of storms and floods, especially Typhoon Yagi; and prepare for the National Assembly’s eighth session, and handle projects with poor performance.

Many international organisations and experts continue to appreciate the results and prospects of Vietnam's economy. Standard Chartered raised its forecast for Vietnam's GDP growth in 2024 from 6% to 6.8%, HSBC also adjusted its projection up from 6.5% to 7%; and the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) predicted that in 2024 and 2025, Vietnam could have the highest growth among ASEAN+3 countries.