News Room - Business/Economics

Posted on 09 Sep 2009

Vietnam targets economic growth of 6.5 pct next year

Vietnam is targeting economic growth of 6.5 percent next year, the central bank said on its website Monday, citing a government statement.

 

The Southeast Asian nation will “focus all efforts to enable the economy to regain a higher growth rate than 2009 and create a sustainable and fast growth momentum for 2011,” the central bank cited the government as saying in the statement. It didn’t say what measures would be implemented to meet the goal.

 

Vietnam has put in place stimulus measures including tax exemptions and loan subsidies to boost growth, which slowed to 3.9 percent in the first half of this year from 6.2 percent in 2008. Growth has become more visible through expanding industrial and agricultural output after the first eight months, Government Office Chief Nguyen Xuan Phuc said Sept. 1.

 

The $90.7 billion economy may expand 5.5 percent this year, Phuc said.

 

The Southeast Asian nation’s government also plans to keep inflation under 7 percent and targets state spending of about 6.5 percent of gross domestic product in 2010, according to the statement Monday.