The Hanoitimes - Vietnam needs to introduce policies to address global financial and economic challenges.
The view was shared by delegates attending a conference held in Hanoi on April 23 by the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Korea Asset Management Corporation.
Experts from Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Japan assessed the impact the global financial crisis on Vietnam and other Asian countries, and made proposals for Vietnam ’s macro-economic policies to help deal with the challenges.
They also shared experiences in restructuring state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and discussed the role asset management companies (AMCs) can play in assisting financially troubled private and public entities.
Vietnamese Minister of Finance Vuong Dinh Hue pointed out challenges faced by the world economy in the first quarter of this year including the public debt crisis in Europe and political instability that has resulted in increased oil prices and inflation, as well as decelerated growth.
The tightening of macro-economic policies in some countries has caused economies to slow down and unemployment to rise, which puts pressure on socio-economic stability, said Hue .
In addition, he said, the high growth rate in Asia ’s developing countries may pose a high risk of inequality and as a result, many may fall into the vicious circle of hunger and poverty.
ADB Vice President Bindu Lohani said that Vietnam is gaining benefits from increasing its exports to developed countries, but it should also pay more attention to domestic and regional demands.
The ADB forecasts Vietnam will achieve 5.7 percent economic growth in 2012 and 6 percent in 2013.
Lohani said the target will be achievable unless there are no economic shocks.
He emphasised that SOEs will play an important role in helping Vietnam cushion the impact of the global financial crunch. The ADB and the Vietnamese Government are working hard to build a strategy for reforming SOEs, especially small-and medium-sized enterprises, he added.
In the first quarter of this year, Vietnam ’s economy showed some positive signs of improvement, including a decreasing Consumer Price Index (CPI), firm foreign currency reserves, increased export turnover, and a trade surplus of US$224 million.