Deputy standing Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said Thursday that the price hike in electricity and petrol is necessary while the finance minister maintained that a 62% increase in power rates is needed for the electricity sector to have profits. Prices of petrol and electricity are currently not in conformity with market rates, Hung said during an online conference in Hanoi. “We are on the market rate roadmap”, he added. The hike in petrol and electricity fees is to offset losses for Vietnamese enterprises. Hung said that a low electricity fee would result in lack of investment in the power sector, leading to a shortage of electricity. A low price also inadvertently causes people to use electricity wastefully. Meanwhile, petrol prices in Vietnam for a long time stayed at a little over VND16,000 per liter, one third lower than rates in Thailand, Laos and China which are around VND24,000-VND26,000. If this situation continues, it will not only discourage savings but also … [Read more...] about Vietnam government justifies power, petrol hikes
Vietnam government today
WB advises Vietnam government to act against growing state budget deficit
Accumulated fiscal imbalances remain a cause of concern for the Vietnamese economy, according to the biannual Taking Stock report released today by the World Bank in Vietnam. Vietnam’s fiscal deficit is estimated to have widened to about 6.4 per cent of GDP in 2015. As a result, Vietnam’s total outstanding public debt was estimated at 62.2 per cent of GDP, inching quickly towards the ceiling of 65 per cent of GDP. The latest estimate of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) shows that actual budget revenues exceed the initial revenue target by 9.4 per cent in 2015. Despite this overall strong revenue performance, collections from major taxes, namely value-added tax (VAT) and corporate income tax (CIT, excluding oil) underperformed. Weak collection of domestic tax was partially offset by non-tax revenues. However, some of the increase in non-tax revenues was based on one-off effects. For example, proceeds from sales of state assets and collection of land-use rights was 75 per … [Read more...] about WB advises Vietnam government to act against growing state budget deficit
Donors support Vietnam’s efforts to stabilize the economy and continue with reforms amidst global economic downturn
Mid-year CG meeting focuses on Vietnam’s macro-economy
(VOVworld) – The 2-day mid-year meeting of the Consultative Group (CG) for Vietnam opens today in the central province of Quang Tri. The main issues are a briefing of current macro-economy in Vietnam, its achievements and challenges and policies of the central provinces on poverty reduction. High on the agenda is the implementation of national and provincial policies on natural disaster risks management in central coastal provinces. Discussions will also cover assessment of projects being undertaken in Quang Tri province. On the sidelines of the meeting, the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the World Bank today co-hosted a seminar on the country’s macro-economic situation. Vietnamese and foreign economists suggested that Vietnam should focus on monetary, credit and financial policies. A tougher control of prices is also needed, while boosting production and increasing consumption will maintain macro-economic stabilization and slow the inflation rate. They also … [Read more...] about Mid-year CG meeting focuses on Vietnam’s macro-economy
Korea shared experiences of e-government development
In the morning of December 8, Office of Korea Trade Promotion and Investment (KOTRA) in Hanoi, coordinated with Department of Informatics – Vietnam Ministry of Information and Communications, Information Technology Export Promotion Organisation (IT) for Korea small and medium enterprises (Kosmic) to organize a workshop on "Sharing experiences of developing Korea e-Government." Taking place in two days, the participants of the workshop focused on discussing the main contents, such as electronic public administration service management system; The system of local e-government; Sharing administrative information systems; The system of electronic document management and smart cities. Speaking at the workshop, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phuc, Director of Department of Informatics, said today the strong development of information technology and communication transformed the working way of the Government, businesses and people. In the trend of integration and globalization today, countries are … [Read more...] about Korea shared experiences of e-government development