Positive signs seen in socio-economic situation: PM

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the meeting. (Photo: VNA)

Addressing the Government’s regular meeting in Hanoi on August 1, the leader said the consumer price index (CPI) in the month increased 0.18 percent as compared with June.

During the January-July period, the index went up 2.61 percent year-on-year, the lowest seventh-month rise over the past three years, he noted.

PM Phuc also highlighted the progress in State budget collection, agriculture, social welfare, employment, poverty reduction, health care, education and tourism, adding that foreign tourists to Vietnam expanded nearly 8 percent in July.

Vietnam’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) climbed from 52.5 points in June to 52.6 points last month, making the country rank second in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the rankings, only after Myanmar with 52.9 points, he said.

Despite global economic difficulties, international organisations like the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) still have an upbeat outlook on Vietnam’s growth, the PM added.

The leader pointed out difficulties facing the agricultural sector, the approaching Storm Wipha, the prolonged drought in the central and Central Highlands regions and the outbreak of African swine fever (ASF).

He, therefore, asked the Government members to focus their attention on these issues in order to work out countermeasures at an early date.

PM Phuc stressed the need to deal with the slow progress of some key industrial, energy and transport projects by the end of this year, as well as shortcomings in the disbursement of capital investment sourced from the State budget, and production and business activities, especially those facing small- and medium-sized enterprises.

During the meeting, the Government members will also look into bottlenecks in investment of businesses under the wing of the Committee for Management of State Capital at Enterprises and the master plan on socio-economic development at mountainous, ethnic minority-inhabited and disadvantaged areas for 2021-2025, and other issues.