Vietnam PM says Q2 GDP growth seen faster than Q1
VIETNAMESE Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said on Wednesday (Jun 26) that the country’s gross domestic product growth in the second quarter will be faster than the 5.66 per cent annual growth in the first three months of the year.
He was speaking at a meeting of the World Economic Forum in China, according to a statement posted on the government website.
The South-east Asian country, a regional industrial hub, is targeting GDP growth of 6 to 6.5 per cent this year, faster than 5.05 per cent last year.
Chinh said Vietnam will continue to prioritise growth and repeated his promise that the country will not face power shortages this year. Vietnam will stick to its flexible monetary policy, with an aim of further cutting banks’ lending interest rates, reducing fees and boosting public investment, he said.
“Vietnam continues to prioritise growth and have flexible policies, suitable to Vietnam’s conditions and circumstances and world situations and trends,” he said.
In 2023, Vietnam failed to meet its GDP growth target partly due to major power shortages amid severe heatwaves that affected business activity.
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Chinh said that Vietnam has been taking measures to upgrade its power generation capacity and its grid, while focusing on clean energy development. The country will soon issue policies for direct power purchase agreements and the development of rooftop solar and power generation from LNG.
Help for high-speed rail development
Separately, Vietnam said it is looking for China’s support with the development of the country’s high-speed railway networks including cross-border lines that would promote trade between the two countries.
Chinh told Lou Qiliang, chairman of China Railway Signal Information Corp, on the sidelines of the forum that Vietnam needs China’s assistance with railway design, construction and technology transfers, according to a statement on Vietnam’s government website.
Vietnam’s plans call for cross-border lines linking China’s Yunnan province to Vietnam’s northern port city of Haiphong and China’s Dongxing City to Haiphong, news website VnExpress reported on Jun 25. It also wants a railway between Vietnam’s border province of Lang Son to Hanoi, the report said.
Vietnam’s Transport Minister Nguyen Van Thang also sought China’s support for a planned 1,500 km high-speed railway linking Vietnam’s northern and southern regions, according to VnExpress. Construction on the railway is expected in 2026-27, the news website reported.
Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to fund a cross-border railway and highlighted a three-year plan to boost trade between the two countries during his trip to Hanoi last year.
China is Vietnam’s top trade partner with bilateral trade at about US$200 billion last year, according to data complied by Bloomberg.
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