During the 2nd session of the 15th National Assembly on Wednesday October 20, 2021, the deputies in groups focused on discussing the performance of the social-economic development plan 2021 and orientations for the social-economic development plan in 2022.

Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phuc spoke at the group discussion
on the morning of October 21. Photo: VGP

According to the report on the performance of the socio-economic development plan in 2021 and orientation for the socio-economic development plan in 2022, in 2021, the macro-economy continued to be stable, inflation was controlled and the major budget balances of the economy were secured.

State budget revenue in the nine months reached over 80%, the whole year‘s revenue is expected to exceed the estimate, meeting funds for pandemic prevention and control and other urgent tasks. State budget deficit was within the estimated range (4% of GDP). The country exported over US$240 billion in nine months and this figure is estimated to rise around 10.7%. Interest rates reduced; exchange rate, foreign currency market was stable, State foreign exchange reserve continued to be consolidated.

In addition to the achieved results, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said four out of 12 major socio-economic indicators were likely to fail to meet the set targets; macroeconomics still has potential risks; inflation pressure increases; exports decelerated and imports continued expanding; import-export depended on the FDI sector and a few markets; the financial, real estate, and securities markets surged and disbursement of public investment capital was slow, especially ODA and concessional loans.

Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh said there were many bright and outstanding points in macroeconomic management in 2021. However, the Economic Committee proposed the Government to pay attention to issues such as, the country saw a trade deficit of US$2.13 billion in the nine months; the exports of the domestic economic sector were still low. Central budget revenue was expected to miss VND28-29 trillion, significantly affecting the implementation of tasks and the key role of the central budget.

Notably, the disbursement of public investment moved at a snail’s pace. By the end of September 2021, the disbursement rate reached 47.38%; 36 ministries and central agencies recorded low disbursement rates and 20 local governments had a disbursement rate of less than 40%.

Speaking at the discussion on the morning of October 21, 2021, Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc, a National Assembly deputy of Binh Dinh province, noted a number of issues related to the management of state budget-financial policies, including disbursement of public investment.

Regarding capital construction investment spending, the Minister said the Prime Minister strongly requested to accelerate the disbursement of public investment in Resolution 63 of the Government on key tasks and solutions to promote economic growth, disbursement of public investment and sustainable exports for the rest of the 2021 and early 2022. Besides, the Prime Minister issued many public messages and announcements related to this issue; and set up a special working group to speed up the disbursement, said minister Ho Duc Phoc.

Regarding the reason for the slow disbursement, the Minister of Finance said due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic from the end of April 2021, capital construction activities have stalled, especially in key economic areas.

“The Prime Minister directed to accelerate the reform of administrative procedures and issue more drastic decentralization regulations; uphold personal responsibility in the disbursement of public investment capital and focus on disbursing public investment capital in the last three months," said Minister Ho Duc Phoc.