Prioritize promoting growth and curbing inflation

Unfavorable and unpredictable developments in the world's geopolitical situation, along with increasing pressure on exchange rates, domestic inflation and the difficult situation of the business community, are factors that are putting great pressure on macroeconomic management and socio-economic development in the remaining quarters of 2024.

In that context, the Prime Minister issued Directive No. 12/CT-TTg on key tasks and solutions to promote socio -economic development to urge ministries, branches and localities to make efforts to overcome challenges, perform at the highest and best level, strive to achieve and exceed the set goals and targets, especially growth targets and inflation control.

Although the first quarter of 2024 started off well with GDP growth higher than the operating scenario, new external factors have emerged that have adversely impacted the domestic situation. These include security and political instability in many countries and regions, leading to instability in the global market, disrupting supply chains and reducing demand for Vietnamese goods. This reality can directly affect the recovery of export activities - one of the main growth drivers of the economy.

Regarding inflation, the pressure is also getting greater as the exchange rate continues to increase due to the stressful impact of the world situation, combined with the domestic situation from the application of the new salary regime from July 1, the possibility of adjusting the prices of some essential goods managed by the State... Therefore, to achieve the growth target of 6-6.5% and control inflation, ensuring the major balances of the economy, ministries, branches and localities need to continue to consistently and steadfastly implement the set goals, viewpoints and development orientations and make efforts to overcome difficulties and challenges to effectively carry out assigned tasks.

In that spirit, the first content of Directive No. 12/CT-TTg is to emphasize the task of continuing to promote growth associated with macroeconomic stability, controlling inflation and ensuring major balances of the economy. Hot and new issues that are emerging such as exchange rate fluctuations and high gold prices have been mentioned in the Directive along with specific solutions assigned to the State Bank of Vietnam.

That is, timely, flexible, harmonious and reasonable management between interest rates and exchange rates; timely and effective implementation of solutions and tools to intervene in the domestic gold market to ensure healthy, open and transparent competition, immediately overcoming the high difference between domestic and international gold bar prices. The focus of the management policy is also aimed at removing difficulties for the business community when the Prime Minister requested to accelerate the reduction and simplification of administrative procedures, create a favorable investment and business environment, continue to remove difficulties for production and business, create jobs and livelihoods for people.

Along with that is the requirement to continue reducing the lending interest rate; increase the economy's access to capital; absolutely not to let there be a shortage of electricity, shortage, or disruption of gasoline supply in any situation... Notably, there are tasks assigned by the Prime Minister to ministries to submit in May, such as a new decree replacing decrees on gasoline trading; extending the tax payment deadline, reducing registration fees for domestically produced and assembled cars, reducing land and water surface rents... to meet urgent requirements.

Bringing the economy back to a high growth trajectory in the current context is a very heavy task but also an imperative to be able to complete the 5-year Socio-Economic Development Plan 2021-2025 with an average growth target of 6.5-7%. Therefore, the Government has identified 2024 as a year of acceleration and breakthrough, and the economic growth target has become the most important task, in addition to the task of maintaining macroeconomic stability, controlling inflation and ensuring major balances. Directive No. 12/CT-TTg once again reiterates the key tasks that need to be prioritized to urge ministries, branches and localities to make joint efforts and determination to effectively implement them.

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