Vietnam premier aims for growth of more than 7% this year
He instructs central bank to lower banks’ interest rates so loan growth can meet 15% target for industry
VIETNAMESE Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has ordered ministries to implement “drastic measures” to boost economic growth to more than 7 per cent this year, following an unexpected acceleration in the previous quarter.
Chinh, who is also aiming for fourth-quarter growth of as much as 8 per cent, also instructed the central bank to take steps to lower banks’ interest rates so that loan growth could quicken to meet the 15 per cent target for the industry, according to a government statement following a Cabinet meeting on Monday (Oct 7).
The State Bank of Vietnam will also continue to keep the dong currency stable, the government said.
Vietnam’s economy expanded 7.4 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier, beating a 6.1 per cent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey and faster than the 7.09 per cent expansion in the second quarter.
The nation’s planning and investment ministry earlier on Monday proposed a growth target of 7.6 to 8 per cent in the last three months of 2024, to bring full-year growth to at least 7 per cent, according to a separate government post, citing planning minister Nguyen Chi Dung.
The growth drivers “continue to be positive”, with agricultural output continuing to expand and meeting local and overseas demand, according to the government post, which cited Dung.
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The service sector has been expanding monthly, while industrial production “continues to recover quickly, being the driving force for economic growth”.
Chinh pushed for measures to boost manufacturing and accelerate fund disbursement for public investment. He also ordered ministries to lead in recovery efforts from Typhoon Yagi, which killed hundreds and caused more than US$3 billion in economic damage. BLOOMBERG
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