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| Dr. Tran Dinh Thien |
Dr. Tran Dinh Thien, Head of Vietnam Institute of Economics, said bringing the inflation rate to 9-9.5% this year, from last year's 18% would be a great achievement, but not enough to repair the economy.
If the inflation rate stays at 9-9.5%, the annual lending interest rates could hover at around 14-16%, Thien explained, adding that this would be too high for many companies
According to the economist, the country can control inflation by the continual implementation of monetary tightening policies taken by the Government in 2011.
Last year nearly 50,000 enterprises in Vietnam went bankrupt; and a large number of firms are on the brink that have not been reported, he emphasised.
Thien said that it is important to tighten control over public spending to save the financial resources in order to support businesses, as well as implement salary reforms in the state-owned sector.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung recently said, the country aims to keep credit growth at 15-17% and reduce budget deficit to below 4.8% of GDP in 2012. The target for GDP growth has been set at 6-6.5%. These goals are part of a continued goal for Vietnam to achieve economic stability and curb inflation.
