VietNamNet Bride - Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Duc Hoa on July 1 warned of big difficulties facing the national economy in the second half of the year while noting upbeat achievements in the first half.

At a press briefing on the country’s socio-economic situation in the first half of the year, Hoa pointed to the threats of a continued rise in consumer price index, widening trade deficit, big waste from ineffective State-funded projects, and complex developments of weather to the country in the next six months.

“The Government will persistently deploy measures to tighten the monetary market, manage trade activities, improve market forecasting capability, push up local production, and implement social welfare policies to deal with those difficulties,” he stressed.

The deputy minister estimated that the GDP growth rate in the second half of the year must be 7.4 percent to enable the yearly GDP growth rate to reach 7 percent as approved by the National Assembly.

According to the General Statistics Office, Vietnam attracted 31.6 billion USD in foreign direct investment in the first half of the year, 3.7 times higher than the same period last year, with each project’s capital averaging at 64.7 million USD.

Coupled with the record high in foreign investment attraction was the slow-down in consumer price index, and impressive growths in exports and industrial production value, the GSO said.

Deputy Minister Hoa attributed such outcomes to the Government’s solutions to rein in inflation and its managerial experiences that have shown to be efficient.

(Source: VNA)