NA opens fifth session to find new solutions for economic development

At the opening ceremony, National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan stated that during the 19-day session, the National Assembly will consider and ratify eight bills and one resolution, and review eight bills (see box for details).

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan delivers her opening speech at the fifth session

During the session, the National Assembly will exercise its supreme oversight on the implementation of policies on the management and use of public capital and assets in state-owned enterprises and the equitisation of these enterprises from 2011 to 2016. It will also review and pass a resolution on the establishment of thematic oversight missions of the National Assembly in 2019, and make decisions on personnel issues.

“These laws and resolutions are very important and they have drawn great attention from the public,” Ngan said. “They are also important for implementing regulations on the market economy, boosting economic restructuring, and improving the national business environment.”

Especially, the National Assembly will also review, debate, and give opinions on a number of issues, including an additional report on the socioeconomic situation of 20l7, and a report on the socioeconomic development and the implementation of the national budget in the early months of 2018. Besides, the legislature will also approve the 2016 national budget settlement.

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh told the National Assembly that the local economy has been witnessing quite positive and comprehensive developments, with the investment and business climate significantly improved, and living standards continuously improving, as well as the country’s position and prestige being enhanced globally.

He reported to the National Assembly that in the first-quarter the economy grew by 7.38 per cent year-on-year, marking the highest first-quarter growth rate over the past 10 years.

One of the growth’s biggest drivers was local production, which surged more than ever, especially industrial production. In this year’s first three months, the index of industrial production (IIP) climbed 11.6 per cent, far higher than the first-quarter IIP growth of 2015 (9.3 per cent), 2016 (8.2 per cent), and 2017 (5.1 per cent).

The National Assembly will adopt several key laws, such as the Law on Special Administrative-Economic Zones

According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), the confidence of the business community—both Vietnamese and foreign firms—in Vietnam is surging more than ever, especially in the key sectors of the economy such as electronics (up 29.3 per cent year-on-year), wastewater treatment (22 per cent year-on-year), and electricity production and distribution (up 10.5 per cent year-on-year).

According to the GSO survey of over 6,500 Vietnamese and foreign firms operating in the manufacturing and processing in Vietnam in March, 91 per cent believe their second-quarter production will be even better than in the first quarter. Also, 90.5 per cent forecast that their export orders for the second quarter of the year will increase higher than in the first quarter.

Last month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued its “World Economic Outlook, April 2018” report, projecting Vietnam’s economy to grow by 6.6 per cent this year and 6.5 per cent in 2019—up from the forecast 5.2 per cent for 2018 in IMF’s previous World Economic Outlook issued in last July.

Notably, under the latest report, Vietnam’s growth rates for 2018 and 2019 were far higher than the averages of Asia for 2018 and 2019 (5.6 and 5.6 per cent), and many regional nations, such as Indonesia (5.3 and 5.5 per cent), Malaysia (5.3 and 5 per cent), Singapore (2.9 and 2.7 per cent), and Thailand (3.9 and 3.8 per cent).

Vietnam’s growth rates for 2018 and 2019 are also predicted to be much higher than the average growth rates of 5.3 and 5.4 per cent, respectively, in 2018 and 2019 of the emerging ASEAN-5, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.