Vietnamese Economic Growth

Economic growth is set to reach between 7 and 7.5 percent annually during the 2011-15 period. The growth of industrial and construction value is to rise between 7.8 and 8 percent in each of the next five years, while agricultural growth is to increase 2.6-3 percent. Agriculture is set to comprise 17-18 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP); the industry-construction sector, 41-42 percent, and services 41-42 percent. High-tech and high-tech application products are expected to account for 35 percent of GDP. Trained workers will account for 55 percent of the workforce. Export revenues are set to increase by 12 percent annually while trade deficits will be reduced to achieve a balance of trade by 2020. Social investment is set to comprise 40 percent of GDP on average over the next five years. Tax collection for the State budget is to reach 23-24 percent of GDP.
Budget Deficit
The budget deficit is to decrease to 4.5 percent of GDP by 2015. Eight million new jobs will be created. The agricultural, forestry, and fisheries sector will employ 40-41 percent of the workforce by 2015. Rural incomes are set to increase between 1.8 and 2 times over the 2010 figures. Population growth rate is set at 1 percent by 2015. Per-capita GDP is to reach $2,000 by 2015. Life expectancy is to reach 74 years by 2015. Poverty rate under the new criteria is to be lowered by 2 percent annually. Forest cover is to expand to between 42 and 43 percent by 2015.
Major Tasks
The Party in the 11th term, on the basis of consensus and leadership, aims to execute its views and tasks in all aspects stated in the political report, focus on leadership, and generate radical changes while carrying out these following major tasks:
* To strengthen the Party's leadership and combat capacity;
* To speed up administrative reforms, especially administrative procedures related to business operation and activities as well as people's daily life.
* To improve the quality of human resources in order to meet demands of industrialization, modernization and global integration of the nation.
* To build a synchronous infrastructure system, especially an efficient traffic system to replace an inadequate system which has caused rampant traffic jams, hampered economic growth, and stirred public anxiety.
* To improve wage policies, distribution and incomes of public employees and white and blue-collar workers, while overcoming the current unreasonable and negative impact of the existing wage and salary policies.
* To focus on solving a number of pressing social issues (degrading morality and lifestyle, social evils, and social order and discipline);
* To strengthen and increase the efficiency of the fight against corruption and waste to prevent and push back these evils.
* Approving the report on self-criticism of the leadership by the Party Central Committee, the 10th tenure, submitted at the 11th National Party Congress. Assigning the Party Central Committee, the 11th term, to receive the opinions of the National Congress in order to promote the strong points and adjust the weaknesses, improve the quality and efficiency of the leadership in the coming term.
* Approving the entire Communist Party of Vietnam Statute which has been amended.
* Approving the election results of the Party Central Committee which includes 200 comrades, of which 175 are official members and 25 are alternate members.
* Assigning the Party Central Committee, 11th term, and Party committees and organizations at all levels to develop programs of action and plans in order to work out the details and successfully carry out the policies and guidelines prescribed in the documents of the 11th Party Congress.
* The 11th National Party Congress calls on the entire Party, people, army, and overseas Vietnamese to continue to uphold the glorious tradition of the nation and Party and promote patriotism, self-reliance and persistence in pursuing national independence and socialism. The Congress also calls for dynamism and innovation as well as great efforts to fulfill the resolutions of the 11th Party Congress. Party leadership and fighting capacity should be promoted, national unity strengthened, and the renewal process accelerated in a comprehensive way in order to lay a foundation for the nation to become a modern industrialized economy by 2020 for the sake of a wealthy people, a strong nation, democracy, justice, civilization, and firmly heading toward socialism.

11th Vietnamese National Party Congress To Consider Supplements to 1991 Platform

At the time the 1991 party platform was issued, our party declared 'The platform will be continuously supplemented as new issues arise.' In a recent article, Political Bureau member and National Assembly chairman Nguyen Phu Trong wrote: 'While carrying out the cause of reform and the 1991 party platform, the awareness of the party has grown, and it has developed in many basic and important respects which help to clarify and perfect the path of reform and the construction of the country during the transitional period to socialism.' 'This is also an important base for the coming 11th National Party Congress to consider and determine the supplements to the 1991 platform,' Trong said.

The 7th National Party Congress in June 1991 approved the platform, that is, the '1991 platform,' for the construction of the country during the transition to socialism. The platform, with its strategic orientation and ideological basis, determined the direction for Vietnam's transition to socialism.

Trong, who is also chairman of Party Central Committee Theoretical Council said 'After nearly 20 years of implementing the platform, our country has gained great historically significant achievements that have changed the face and status of the country.'

At the time the 1991 platform was issued, however, our party declared 'At present we do not have the basis on which to picture the shape of the society in the future. Nevertheless we can draw the principles and direction for the period of transition to socialism of our country. The platform will be continuously supplemented as new issues arise,' according to a speech by General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh at the ninth Plenum of the sixth Central Committee in August 1990.

In fact the country and the world have undergone significant changes since the 1991 platform. Many emerging issues were understood and resolved effectively by our party, and the content of the 1991 platform was supplemented, reflecting a deeper understanding.

The platform reflects the current situation, our country's revolutionary period and its lessons, the characteristics of the transitional period, and specifics of socialism in Vietnam, the goals, tasks, and directions for the gradual transition to socialism. It includes the economy, politics, culture, society, national defense and security, foreign affairs, and party and political system development. All these elements, at different levels, help to supplement the platform and develop consciousness.

Summarizing the content and reasoning of the platform, Trong emphasized that 'the transition to socialism is a long, difficult, and complicated course.'

Difficulties and Challenges
Socialism is the target and the ideal. Achieving socialism is inevitable, and the irreversible path of Vietnam's revolution. The 1991 platform said 'Socialism is facing many difficulties and challenges. The world is experiencing uncertain conditions. But mankind will definitely progress to socialism because this is the evolutionary law of history.' But what is socialism and how to progress to socialism? This is what the party always thinks about and studies, how to follow the rules of the world while adjusting them to the specific conditions and characteristics of our country.

In the years of following the path of reform, the party has gradually surmounted simple and immature concerns such as reconciling the ultimate goal of socialism with the tasks of the immediate period, incorrectly equating the market-oriented economy with capitalism, making light of the achievements and values of mankind in the period of development of capitalism, quickly abolishing the private economy, and equating a law-governed state with a capitalist state.

Leadership Factor
'Although some issues require further study, we can generalize that a socialist society is a society with wealthy people, a powerful country, with democracy, justice, and civilization, owned by the people, with a highly-developed economy based on a modern production force and public ownership of the means of production, with a law-governed socialist state of the people, by the people, and for people under the leadership of the communist party,' Trong wrote.

The chairman also affirmed that the concept of the socialist-oriented market economy 'was a creative breakthrough in the reasoning of the Party and is an important theoretical argument after 20 years of carrying out the 1991 platform. It arose from Vietnam's reality and lessons from the experiences of the world.'

The 8th National Party Congress in June 1996 introduced an important new concept of productive economy and socialism: 'Productivity is not opposed to socialism, but it is an achievement of human civilization. It is necessary for the cause of socialist construction, even when socialism is already built.'

However, at that time, we said only that: 'Applying different forms of economy as well as management methods of the market economy are to use its positive side to serve the purpose of building socialism without following the capitalist road. Some aspects of the market-oriented economy are contrary to the nature of socialism. Employing the market economy, we need to overcome and limit as much as possible those negative aspects.'

Starting with the 9th National Party Congress in April 2001, the concept of 'socialist-oriented market economy' was entered officially into the documents of the party, and has been considered to be the economic model for the transitional period to socialism in Vietnam.

Promoting Strength of National Unity
According to Trong, the basis characteristic of the socialist-oriented market economy is uniting economic and social policies, and economic growth goes along with social progress and justice.

The chairman mentioned maintaining a peaceful environment, independence, self-reliance, and integration into the world. He emphasized the task of building a modern people's army and police and improving their fighting strength. He also emphasized democracy, the construction of a socialist law-governed state, and promoting the strength of national unity. Trong affirmed: 'Building socialist democracy and ensuring that the power really belongs to the people are important long-term goals of Vietnam's revolution.'

The policy to build a law-governed socialist state was a new awareness of our party in the 1990's, and was not in the 1991 platform.

A law-governed socialist state is different in nature from a capitalist state in that the laws in a capitalist state are a tool to protect and serve the interest of the capitalist class, while the laws in a socialist state express and carry out the rights of the people and protect the interest of the majority.

After emphasizing the role of the party as team leader of the working class, the people, and the nation, and as the ruling party with a party-building mission, Trong affirmed that our party considers party building to be the key and vital task of the revolutionary movement.

Need of the Hour
This sets out the requirement for the party to evolve, to reform itself, to promote the ideological mission, to train in moral qualities, and to fight against regression, degeneration, and corruption. It must reform and consolidate the party organization and the political system, raise the quality of officials and party members, improve job performance, enhance inspection and supervision, improve and streamline leadership and work practices, maintain a strong link with the people, and rely on the people to build the party. Especially beware of the risk of deviations from policy, degeneration, bureaucracy, and aloofness from the common people.

The chairman concluded that while carrying out the cause of reform and the 1991 party platform, the awareness of the party has grown, and it has developed in many basic and important respects which help to clarify and perfect the path of reform and the construction of the country during the transitional period to socialism. This is the basis for the 11th National Party Congress to consider and determine the supplements to the 1991 platform.

Vietnam's Economy Shows Positive Economic Growth Trend

While most economies worldwide suffered a negative growth rate in 2009, Vietnam managed to place itself among the few countries that attained a relatively high growth rate of 5.32 percent. This basic figure indicates the strong recovery of the economy.
Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc said this at the regular meeting of the government in December 2009. According to the minister, the trend in other fields is positive as well.

Industrial Output Grows at 7.6 Percent
Industry was seriously affected by the shrinkage of export markets, but factories, businesses, and corporations made a great effort. The government and authorities at various levels proposed timely and effective solutions, for example supporting interest rates, expanding domestic consumption, and encouraging people to respond to the campaign "the Vietnamese people use Vietnamese products." Industry recovered quickly as a result. Negative growth of 4.4 percent in January 2009 was followed by continuous increases through the last months of the year, when industry was growing 12-13 percent. Overall industrial growth in 2009 was 7.6 percent.
High growth rates were seen in some product areas such as air conditioners 41.8 percent, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) 39.3 percent, freezers and refrigerators 29.5 percent, cement 19.2 percent, and round steel 19.1 percent.
A number of provinces experienced high growth rates, including 15.8 percent in Quang Ninh, 13.9 percent in Thanh Hoa, 10.6 percent in Dong Nai, 10.3 percent in Binh Duong, 9.4 percent in Hanoi, and 7.9 percent in Ho Chi Minh City.

Food Production Hits Record Level
In 2009, our country, particularly Tay Nguyen [Central Highlands] and the South Central Coast suffered severe damage from floods and storms, but because of efforts to promote production in other regions, particularly in the Red River Delta and the Mekong Delta, total grain production reached an estimated 43.33 million tons, including 38.9 million tons of rice, surpassing the 2008 record high by 0.4 percent in 2008, rice production reached the highest level in 12 years. Average rice productivity was 52.3 quintals per hectare.
Over the previous years, many localities had begun to replace old and stunted perennials with new varieties of higher yield and quality. Income from perennials was higher than other that of crops, so businesses and farmers continued to expand cultivated areas. Notably, more than 42,800 hectares of rubber were planted in the northern mountain provinces, Tay Nguyen and Binh Phuoc in 2009, and these provinces increased tea plantation by 2,600 hectares, and 6,100 hectares for coffee.
Animal husbandry continued to expand, particularly large-scale concentrated husbandry, and the number of farms increased more than 18 percent in compared to 2008.
Fishery and aquaculture production increased 5.4 percent over the previous year. The main reason was that localities continued to convert and expand cultivation areas in the direction of combining multiple cropping and polyculture. In addition the models of cage and raft aquaculture continued to develop, especially cage and raft aquaculture in the sea near the provinces of Kien Giang, Quang Nam, Ninh Thuan, Phu Yen, and Haiphong. Offshore seafood production increased due to a policy that supports purchases by fishermen of longer-range boats. Fishery services also improved, allowing boats more days at sea.

Posts, Telecommunication Revenue Increased 39.7 Percent
The number of new subscribers in 2009 was 41.7 million, an increase of 40.8 percent compared to 2008, including four million fixed-line subscribers, an increase of 43.1 percent, and 37.7 million cell phone subscribers, an increase of 40.5 percent. By the end of December 2009, the number of telephone subscribers in the country was 123 million, an increase of 51.3 percent over the previous year, including 18.1 million fixed line subscribers, an increase of 28.4 percent and 104.9 million cell phone subscribers, an increase of 56.1 percent.
By late December 2009, the number of internet subscribers had reached 3 million, an increase of 45.5 percent compared to 2008. The Internet users were estimated to be 22.9 million by late December, an increase of 10.3 percent over 2008. Total net revenue from post and telecommunication services in 2009 was estimated at 94.9 trillion Vietnam dong, an increase of 39.7 percent compared to 2008.

Lowest Consumer Price Index Increase in 6 Years
Consumer prices were fairly stable in 2009, apart from an increase of over one percent in February and December. The consumer price index in other months decreased or increased slightly. The consumer price index in December 2009 increased 6.52 percent in comparison with December 2008, much lower than the National Assembly's approved target of 10 percent.
The consumer price index in 2009 increased 6.88 percent from 2008, the lowest in the recent six years. The consumer price index increased 7.71 percent in 2004, 8.29 percent in 2005, 7.48 percent in 2006, 8.3 percent in 2007, and 22.97 percent in 2008.
In the context of the global financial crisis, our economy achieved a fairly high growth rate, and the inflation rate was not high. This indicates a big success for macroeconomic management and administration.

Exports Grow at End of Year
Because of the shrinkage of consumption in international markets, many commodity prices dropped sharply, so export turnover reached only about $41.4 billion in the first three quarters of 2009, a decrease of 14.8 percent from the same period in 2008. Exports for the whole year were estimated at $56.6 billion, a decrease of 9.7 percent from 2008.
However, in the later months, the situation noticeably improved. Export turnover in November reached nearly $4.7 billion, an increase of 10.2 percent over the same period in 2008.
December achieved the highest level of the year with $5.25 billion, an increase of 12 percent over the previous month and 12.5 percent over December 2008, mainly because of an increase in major commodity exports. Textile exports increased $90 million, rice $80 million, footwear $77 million, coffee $67 million, and crude oil $33 million.
Vietnam's economic changes during 2009, particularly in the last months, are a positive sign for new developments in 2010, the last year of 10-year 2001-2010 socioeconomic development strategy, the year of party congresses at all levels, and the 11th National Party Congress.