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| Fruits on sale at the Thao Dien WinMart supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA) |
Hanoi (VNA) – The Government has made considerable efforts and implemented various measures to accelerate economic growth and rein in inflation amid mounting pressure from external conflicts and geopolitical volatility, stated Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Van Thang on October 31, part of the second session of the 16th National Assembly.
Growth reflected not only in economic indicators but also in people’s living standards
On the goal of high and sustainable economic growth, he said 2026 is full of difficulties and challenges for both the global and Vietnamese economies. Geopolitical and military conflicts around the world have severely affected energy markets, driving up fuel prices from the second quarter. This, in turn, has pushed up the prices of many goods and services.
In addition, in the third quarter, the US imposed an additional tariff of 12.5% on Vietnamese goods exported to this country. As a result, around 70% of Vietnam’s exports to the US has faced additional tariffs, creating more difficulties for businesses.
Nevertheless, the economy recorded remarkable efforts in the third quarter and first nine months of 2026. GDP growth reached approximately 9.01% in the nine-month period, placing Vietnam among the few countries with the world’s highest growth rates.
The Deputy PM said growth should be measured not only through economic indicators but also by how effectively people’s livelihoods are protected, and whether social welfare policies and measures to ease difficulties facing businesses and citizens have been implemented in parallel.
Through fiscal policy, the State has provided around 360 trillion VND (13.95 billion USD) in tax and fee support for people and businesses. In the first nine months, more than 200 trillion VND was also allocated to social welfare programmes in healthcare and education.
To achieve the full-year growth target of 10%, GDP would need to expand by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Thang described this as “a major challenge, but not an impossible task”, noting that the economy still has considerable momentum and room for expansion, supported by the strong determination of the Government, ministries, sectors and localities.
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| Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Van Thang speaks at the 16th National Assembly's second session on October 31, 2026. (Photo: VNA) |
He said the Government will pursue a highly determined approach in the fourth quarter, closely following its governance scenarios and promptly addressing bottlenecks in institutions, land, administrative procedures, construction materials and, particularly, capital and market access for businesses. It will also accelerate eligible projects' commencement of operations.
The Government will maximise the drivers of investment, consumption and exports, support businesses in maintaining and diversifying markets, securing more orders and increasing value added, and assist localities, particularly those serving as growth engines, in fulfilling their targets, the Deputy PM added.
Striving for full disbursement of medium-term public investment capital
Regarding the allocation and disbursement of public investment capital, Thang said under Resolution No. 27/2026/QH16 on the medium-term public investment plan for 2026–2030, the National Assembly approved about 3.42 quadrillion VND in medium-term public investment capital.
To date, the Government has approved an allocation plan for 3.15 quadrillion VND, equivalent to 92% of the total amount authorised by the legislature. The PM has allocated and assigned detailed funding of 1.98 quadrillion VND, 1.5 times the amount assigned during the previous term.
For the remaining more than 1 quadrillion VND, the Government has identified specific projects and programmes for allocation, he said.
Regarding disbursement, the Government’s report showed that by the end of September 2026, the country had disbursed 63% of the annual plan, an increase of 203 trillion VND in absolute terms compared with the same period last year. Updated figures as of October 29 showed that public investment disbursement had exceeded 720 trillion VND, equivalent to more than 75% of the plan.
This reflects the efforts by the Government, ministries, sectors and localities, the Deputy PM said.
However, several ministries, central agencies and localities have yet to meet disbursement targets, while eight localities have relatively high outstanding advance payments.
He explained that 2026 is the first year of implementing the medium-term public investment plan, meaning many newly launched projects require advance funding. The Government expects the proportion of advance payments to decline in the coming period under its stronger direction and supervision.
The Government is now focusing on measures to achieve 100% disbursement under the medium-term public investment plan. Achieving this target could contribute around 2.5 percentage points to fourth-quarter growth and, in turn, approximately 1.7 percentage points to full-year economic growth in 2026.
On keeping inflation at the targeted rate of 4.5%, the Deputy PM said the Government has applied various measures to keep domestic fuel prices considerably lower than those in many other countries.
Meanwhile, the Government has instructed Vietnam Electricity (EVN) to urgently review and minimise costs in order to reduce retail electricity prices by around 2% between now and March 31, 2027. Together with the reduction of the excise tax on petrol to zero, these measures are expected to create an additional margin of around 0.07 percentage points for keeping inflation within the target set by the National Assembly.
The Deputy PM affirmed that the Government will push ahead with coordinated measures involving fiscal and monetary policies and price management, while effectively maintaining appropriate policies on tax and fee exemptions, reductions and deferrals./.
