Nation has no time to rest on its laurels

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) announced last week that Vietnam’s economy grew by 8.48 per cent while the consumer price index (CPI) surged to 12.63 per cent. Registered foreign direct investment hit $20.3 billion, an increase of 69.1 per cent over 2006.
The country’s export turnover hit $48.4 billion and official development assistance committed to the country was also a record at $5.4 billion.

According to a MPI report, Vietnam’s economy is benefiting from an improved business environment, high export turnover and the growth of service and industrial sectors.
Economists remark the country’s consistent reform policy has paid off with Vietnam’s image as a stable socio-political environment and its enhanced status in the international arena following the World Trade Organization accession and the winning of a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council having attracted foreign investors to the second fastest growing economy in Asia.
However, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung was concerned at the large discrepancy between government forecasts and 2007’s real picture.

In early 2007, the government forecasted FDI capital at $13 billion and a CPI increase lower than economic growth.
“If we had [correctly] forecasted the growth of FDI, foreign porfolio investment and inflation this year, we would have had more suitable policies and absorbed the [incoming] capital sources more effectively and we would also have controlled inflation better,” said Hung.
Disbursement of official development assistance funds exceeded targets this year due to improvements in administrative procedures.

At a governmental meeting held last week in Hanoi, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung stressed the need to boosting administrative reforms to absorb capital resources.
The prime minister also said that the country would try to push economic growth past 9 per cent and export turnover growth over 22 per cent next year.
The target set by the National Assembly is from 8.5 per cent to 9 per cent.
The government also targeted average per capita income at $960 next year. This year’s per capita income sat at $835.