Illustrative image (Source: VNA) DinhLa Thang, Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee told the Vietnam EconomicScenario 2017- Business-Investment in a Changing World seminar that the globaleconomy continues to be volatile and hard-to-predict with the rise of populism.
Aslower than forecast recovery of the world economy, a reduction in global tradegrowth and a slowdown in the commodity market have adversely affectedexport-driven economies, including Vietnam, he said.
Thecountry also faces challenges at home, including complicated weather patternsand climate change as well as slow growth in labour productivity andenterprises’ capacity, he said.
“Weshould not be discouraged when looking at a somewhat gloomy general picture,but we accept the reality.
“Becauseour economy also has many golden opportunities to retain its high growth ratesand even achieve a big breakthrough.”
Hesaid the basis for his optimism include the Government’s programme torestructure the economy and renovate its growth model, its determination to actas a constructive, truthful Government to serve the people and consider theprivate sector an important driving force of the economy.
Thesehave significantly supported enterprises’ development and motivated innovativestart-up programmes, he said.
Thedesire to develop the agricultural sector using high-technology would helpraise its competitiveness in the global market, he added.
Otherdelegates said since the end of last year the country’s economy has seen bothadvantages and difficulties.
TheGovernment has implemented many measures to resolve the difficulties faced bycompanies, improve the business environment and support start-ups, they said.
Thesepolicies have yielded positive signs like investment by the private sectorincreasing by 9.4 percent and the number of new businesses going up by 110,000last year.
FDIflows reduced globally last year, but Vietnam’s share increased by 9 percent.
EconomistVo Tri Thanh said despite facing difficulties in exports and attracting foreigninvestment, Vietnam still has certain advantages, including geographic andpolitical.
Furthermore,Vietnam is not only a promising market of more than 90 million increasinglyaffluent people, but also a gateway for foreign investors and businesses toaccess markets that have free trade agreements with Vietnam, he said.
Talkingabout promising sectors for investment, he listed processing, real estate,finance-banking, and even agriculture.
DonLam, CEO and founding partner of VinaCapital, said “Beyond our traditionalfocus on companies participating in the domestic consumption story, we seepotential investment opportunities in areas such as infrastructure and perhapsthe banking sector, which are among the top priorities for the Government.
“Hospitalityis another sector with great promise. Tourism numbers reached records in 2016and are expected to continue to rise this year. At the same time, our tourismindustry remains undeveloped compared with neighbours such as Thailand andMalaysia, so the prospect for growth is tremendous.”
Delegatessaid if Vietnam wants to achieve economic growth of 6 percent or more thisyear, its economic policies must be steady and flexible and restructuring hasto be speeded up, especially that of the banking and financial systems andState-owned enterprises.
Thanhsaid “Vietnam needs to provide a new impetus for reforms as well as ‘qualityresources’ for development. The interaction between domestic reforms andintegration become much more important.”
NguyenTu Anh, deputy head of the State Bank of Vietnam’s Monetary Policy Department,said the central bank would track economic and monetary developments to adoptappropriate monetary policy tools to balance inflation and economic growth.
Itwould meanwhile make efforts to keep the monetary and foreign exchange marketsstable, he assured.
Thangsaid HCM City leaders understand the challenges and are determined to overcomethem to retain the city’s position as the country’s leading economy and aim forhigher targets.
Thecity is implementing seven breakthrough programmes based on its strengths andpotential, and attaches great importance to reforming the investmentenvironment, motivating entrepreneurs and creating conditions for establishingand developing businesses, he said.
Theseminar, organised by the Vietnam Economic Times, was attended by more than 300delegates, including Vietnamese and foreign business executives.-VNA
VNA
