The economic restructuring plan was put forward for discussion at the National Assembly Standing Committee’s session for the first time on April 19.
The discussion had the participation of NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung, Vice Chairs and Chair people of NA’s specialized committees.
The plan was presented by the Minister of Planning and Investment, the Minister of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam’s Governor.
The plan was remarkably changed compared to the draft, which was introduced on April 5. The goals pointed out in the draft plan was copied from the Social-Economic Development Strategy for 2011-2020 while the goals set in the latest plan are more specific, with five major contents, as follows: restructuring the system of credit institutions, restructuring the stock market and financial institutions, restructuring public investment, restructuring state-owned enterprises and finally restructuring economic sectors and economic regions.
The latest plan suggests 13 solutions, instead of 12 as the draft.
Most of deputies highly appreciated the government’s urgency and seriousness in building this plan. However, the NA Standing Committee asked the government to further detail the plan.
The NA’s Economic Committee said that the plan does not calculate necessary cost and the impacts of this plan on the implementation of social-economic targets. The committee said that cost calculation is very important, in the context that Vietnam’s financial resource is limited.
“I want to know whether the plan’s goals will be achieved in the next ten years. How many people will become jobless in the next five years, because of this plan? How will be the state budget? How will poverty will be solved when the public investment structure change? I want to know all about impacts caused by this plan,” said Ksor Phuoc, Chair of the NA’s Committee for Ethnic Groups.
Deputy Truong Thi Mai said that cost for implementing this plan is very important. The cost for economic structure to overcome crisis in other countries in the world is usually at 5-10 percent or even 30-40 percent, she added.
As the Chair of the NA’s Committee for Social Affairs, Ms. Mai was interested in the change of labor structure. “The faster the economic structure changes, the more laborers are hurt. The plan does not mention labor relations,” she said.
NA Chair Nguyen Sinh Hung said that the compilation group had to make clear the impacts of this plan on not only the economy but also the society, environment, defense and foreign relations.
Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh said that if the comprehensive plan is approved, related ministries will create detailed plans for their own fields, based on the comprehensive plan.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment is in charge of working out the general economic and public investment restructure plan, while the central bank develops the credit institution restructuring plan and the Ministry of Finance works out the state own enterprise and financial market restructuring plans.
