Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has agreed to the use of around 1 billion USD, sourced from State currency reserves, to meet urgent socio-economic needs.
These needs include addressing a number of issues arising from the implementation of measures to prevent an economic recession.
PM Dung gave his consent at a regular Government meeting in Hanoi on Dec. 1-2, where cabinet members discussed measures to bolster the national economy, which has been suffering from the effects of the global financial crisis since October this year.
The PM agreed with the other cabinet members on the necessary steps, including accelerating production levels and exports, stimulating investment and consumption, implementing effective and flexible monetary and financial policies and ensuring social welfare and reducing poverty.
Accordingly, the Government will work to boost the production of commodities, particularly products that are likely to attain high growth rates and bring in substantial export revenues, and make adjustments to existing manufacturing structures as well as examining the import-export categories of several major products.
PM Dung stated that the Government is set to reschedule loans and even reduce interest rates to stimulate the consumption of industrial products in the domestic market, including steel ingots, construction steel, cement, fertilisers, paper and chemicals.
In addition, PM Dung pledged that the Government will assist in the building of rice storage facilities with storage capacities of around 1 million tonnes in large rice-growing provinces.
He requested the Ministry of Planning and Investment and other relevant ministries and agencies to examine the existing legal regulations relating to construction in a bid to remove obstacles to the effective implementation of State-funded projects and to help ensure the laws governing the field are more comprehensive and relevant.
The cabinet members also agreed to grant 1.5 trillion VND, sourced from government bonds, for the dredging of major irrigation canals in the Red River Delta to ensure a stable water supply for farming work in the northern provinces.
PM Dung promised that the Government will consider a reduction in corporate income taxes and a rescheduling of corporate income tax collections, as well as adjusting tariff levels for the export of several types of natural resources and minerals, and the import of materials for domestic production.
He asked the State Bank of Vietnam to take particular measures to facilitate businesses’ access to loans, particularly small businesses, those involved in the export industry, and farmers who have been affected by natural disasters.
PM Dung also requested the Finance Ministry and associated agencies to immediately provide relief aid to flood-hit localities in the central region and promptly implement programmes benefiting the poor, low-income earners, and victims of natural disasters.
During the meeting, the cabinet members also discussed revisions and supplements to the existing Cinematography Law and listened to a presentation on the ratification of the UN Anti-Corruption Convention.
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