A thorough review of public spending, tightened monetary policies, stable supply of essential commodities, stable power supply for key industries and increased assistance for disadvantaged people were the five courses of action announced by the government yesterday.
All ministries and agencies in cities and provinces nationwide have been asked to conduct a through review of public projects in order to jettison or defer those found inefficient or unnecessary.
Fifteen groups and corporations have cut around VND29.4 trillion (US$1.75 billion) in cost from 1,003 public projects scheduled for this year, decreasing the cost of their initial plans by 12 percent, the Ministry of Planning and Investment announced last month. The cost curtailment is part of the government’s directive to cut project’s spending by 10 percent.
The government is set to issue higher benchmarks in the third quarter pertaining to capitalization, governance, and technical standards of banks in order to streamline the operation of current banks and the licensing of new ones.
The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has said it would stop receiving applications for joint-stock commercial banks pending further notice. The central bank said the decision was based on the government’s instruction last month to “amend conditions for setting up a joint-stock commercial bank.”
The government would maintain price controls on four essential items - power, water, bus fares, and coal, until the end of this year.
The prices of petrol and oil would be managed on par with the market mechanisms and subsidies scrapped, the resolution said.
On Wednesday, Vietnam slashed retail gasoline prices by 5.6 percent responding to further falls in global crude oil prices. The world crude oil price, by the time the government’s price cut took effect, stood at around $115.40 per barrel, a decrease of 1.8 percent from the start of the month.
The price cut, the second in just two weeks, is part of efforts to curb inflation which is estimated to have hit 28.3 percent in August.
The resolution instructs agencies and related ministries to ensure enough supply of essential items, particularly gasoline, food, iron and steel, fertilizer, and medicine. The government would brook no shortage of those items under any circumstance, the resolution stressed.
The government told the Ministry of Industry and Trade to work with state-run corporations to boost exports of electronic items, furniture and fisheries products in a bid to increase export turnover by 26 to 30 percent by the end of this year.
The move seeks to curb the widening trade deficit, which stood at $900 million in August alone, compared with $800 million in July.
Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) has been asked to guarantee sufficient power supply for the production of essential goods and export items.
The central bank has been told to take appropriate measures so that small and medium enterprises can obtain the credit needed to ensure their smooth operation.
Finally, the resolution instructs central and local leaders to focus on implementing social insurance policies for disadvantaged people, including increased financial assistance for offshore fishermen, ethnic minority citizens and children.
Source: TN, Agencies |
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