Minister: Government determined to achieve 3 pct. growth this year

Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung at the press conference (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi - The Vietnamese Government resolved to record GDP growth of 2.5-3 percent this year at its recent monthly meeting, Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung told a press conference on October 2.

To this end, Dung said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked ministries and agencies to build a value chain model for each type of priority product, removing difficulties for projects and propelling growth.

The State Bank of Vietnam was also urged to offer all possible support to boost credit growth.

Highlighting bright spots in the economy in September, Dung said Vietnam has successfully curbed two COVID-19 outbreaks and by now gone 30 days without any community transmissions. The agriculture sector is likely to earn 41 billion USD from exports this year. Amid the pandemic, the country still posted a trade surplus of 17 billion USD.

Localities recently began the construction of three major works that are part of the eastern section of the North-South Expressway project. Five other works in the public-private partnership model under the project are expected to be launched in October.

Disbursement of public investment capital in September and the first nine months of the year hit records. Total social investment was up 7.4 percent annually in the third quarter, with State sector investment up an impressive 21.5 percent.

FDI topped 21 billion USD in the first nine months, while the consumer price index rose 3.85 percent.

On the back of the 2.62 percent growth in the third quarter, the country could post a solid result this year, which would be a great effort given that other ASEAN member states have posted negative growth, Dung said.