Economy promises bigger results

Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh

At last week’s National Assembly Standing Committee meeting, Vinh stressed that “Based on the substantive economic recovery experienced over the past four months, the economy will continue progressing with positive results expected over the coming months. The expected growth target for 2014 may be achieved.”

The National Assembly earlier revised up growth to 5.8 per cent, against 5.42 per cent last year.

“I am sure that industrial production, especially manufacturing and processing, will continue surging, while exports will continue their major growth,” Vinh said.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) reported at the meeting that four-month state budget revenue reached VND288.8 trillion ($13.75 billion), up an impressive 14 per cent on-year.

“The increase in budget revenue is ascribed to a recovery in local production. Enterprises are reviving while the number of firms paying taxes has also increased,” said MoF Minister Dinh Tien Dung. “If this rate continues, 2014’s state budget revenue target will be achieved.”

The National Assembly earlier set a target revenue target of VND782.7 trillion ($37.27 billion) including VND539 trillion ($25.66 billion) from domestic revenue and VND85.2 trillion ($4.05 billion) from crude oil exports.

At the Spring Forum in Washington DC last month, Naoyuki Shinohara, deputy

managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said Vietnam’s economy was strongly rebounding and likely to grow at 6-6.5 per cent in the coming period.

The MPI’s most recent statistics revealed that the first four months of this year saw 25,729 newly-established businesses with total registered capital of over VND143.4 trillion ($6.82 billion), up 8.1 and 16.2 per cent respectively on-year.

The four-month industrial production index rose 5.4 per cent, against 4.8 per cent recorded in the first four months of last year. The processing and manufacturing sector grew 7.4 per cent on-year, while the power production and distribution climbed 9.6 per cent.

The garment and textile sector, for example, earned a four-month export turnover of $5.94 billion, up 20 per cent on-year. The beer, alcohol and beverage sector produced 240.8 million litres in April, up 26.5 per cent on-month and 5.5 per cent on-year. It produced 873.5 million litres in the first four months of this year, up 4.5 per cent on-year.

Total export turnover during the four months reached $45.74 billion, up 16.9 per cent on-year, with local enterprises recording turnover of $15.4 billion – up 16.2 per cent on-year, while foreign enterprises achieved turnover of $30.3 billion, up 17.2 per cent on-year.

Total import turnover in the first four months reached $45.05 billion, up 13.7 per cent on-year, with local firms recorded turnover growth of 8 per cent on-year and foreign enterprises saw turnover increase 18.2 per cent on-year.

Notably, Vinh reported that state-owned enterprise (SOEs) equitisation increasing in tempo, with 19 enterprises equitised, 215 having established their equitisation steering committees, 36 making announcements on their value, 11 conducting initial public offering, two firms dissolved and nine merged.

“However, these figures remain small, we’re expecting larger numbers in the coming time,” Vinh said, adding that 432 SOEs would need to be equitised during 2014-2015.

However, he also underscored that weak local demand was impeding production. Four-month credit grew only 0.53 per cent against late last year, lower than 1.44 per cent of the corresponding period last year.