Successful shot at social economic targets

Vietnamese government officials at the meeting highlighted good results in several national economic sectors, such as industrial and agricultural production, retail sales, exports and imports, investment and state budget expenditures.
Nguyen Xuan Phuc, deputy chairman of the Government Office, briefed the meeting on key economic development points in the January-October period, saying that the country’s industrial production was valued at around VND411.63 trillion ($25.73 billion), up 16.9 per cent year-on-year, of which the private sector contributed 22.3 per cent, foreign invested enterprises (FIEs) 19.5 per cent and state-run enterprises 9.3 per cent. Industrial products recording high growth were coal, up 20.8 per cent, sanitary ceramic wares, up 18.9 per cent and ready-made garments, up 18.5 per cent.
According to the report, the country earned around $32.87 billion from exports in the first 10 months of this year, up 24.2 per cent year-on-year, while it reported lower import growth of 20.7 per cent, registering $36.869 billion in the same period. The export - import figures resulted in a trade deficit of $3.997 billion, lower than the same period last year.
Crude oil, garments and textiles,
footwear and seafood were the four largest export earners with revenues between $2 billion and $5 billion. Rubber for the first time joined Vietnam’s largest export earners club of electricity goods, computers, rice and wooden products, whose export revenues exceeded $1 billion each.
Vietnam is forecast to export $37.44 billion, up 18.5 per cent, and to import $42-43 billion, up 15 per cent in 2006.
The country’s economic development target received a boost this year from high growth of retail revenues during the period, as total retail sales for goods and services grew at 20.5 per cent, of which private sector sales rose by 24 per cent, collectives and FIEs, 20.5 per cent each, and the state-owned sector 9.2 per cent.
Vietnam also welcomed around three million foreign visitors from China, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, the US, Russia, Japan, Singapore and Canada, up 3.6 per cent from January to October. Goods and transportation also saw robust growth.
The government report also said that the country has made a breakthrough in foreign direct investment (FDI), with a total of $6.49 billion in the first 10 months of the year, up 41.4 per cent and fulfilling 99.7 per cent the year’s target of $6.5 billion. Of total FDI attraction, around $4.78 billion was from 705 newly licensed projects and the rest from additional capital increases in operating projects.
Hong Kong remained the biggest investor among the 37 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, followed by South Korea, the US, Japan and the British Virgin Islands.
Vietnam now has 6,761 FDI operating projects with a total registered investment capital of $53.3 billion.
Government agencies, meanwhile, disbursed around $1.4 billion in official development assistance (ODA) in the period, of which $1.242 billion was loans and $158 million in direct aid. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank were the biggest ODA providers to Vietnam so far this year.
The country’s state budget collections in the first 10 months of this year have made up 83.2 per cent of the year’s plan, of which crude oil, domestic taxes, import-export taxes and international loans were major contributors. The spending from state coffers in the period, meanwhile, reached 80.7 per cent of the yearly projection. No extract figures about state budget expenditures were released.
Vietnam’s consumer price index (CPI) in October was up by 0.2 per cent against September, bringing the total increase to 5.4 per cent in the first 10 months. The government is trying to keep the inflation rate below GDP growth this year.



No. 786/November 6-12, 2006