Vietnam said on Thursday it has raised its economic growth target to between 9.1 percent and 9.2 percent next year from an earlier 8.7 percent, with the aim of boosting incomes and reducing poverty.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told a cabinet meeting on Wednesday that GDP growth of 9 percent or more was attainable, the government said in a report on its Web site (www.chinhphu.gov.vn).
Dung told the cabinet that Vietnam should strive for an investment rate of 41-42 percent of GDP next year in development projects with priority given to attracting foreign investment, speeding privatisation, building highways, airports and ports.
"This is a breakthrough step to achieve industrialisation and modernisation," Dung said in the government report.
Vietnam has one of the fastest-growing economies after China, but needs big improvements in infrastructure to achieve its goal of becoming an industrialised country to compete in the regional and global economy.
The higher GDP growth target was aimed at raising Vietnam's per capita income to $1,000 in 2008 and cutting the number of poor families to 11 percent from 14.75 percent forecast for this year, Dung said.
Previously, the government had a per capita income target of $1,000 by 2010.
Government projections for 2008 are all above the targets set by the Planning and Investment Ministry (MPI), which aimed for GDP growth in 2008 of 8.6-8.9 percent and per capita income reaching $956 to $960, the ministry said in a report.
It forecast per capita income of $835 this year from $720 in 2006.
It said contribution from agriculture, fisheries and forestry to GDP next year would ease to 19 percent from 19.8 percent expected this year, while the industry and construction sectors would boost their part in GDP to 42.6 percent from 42.1 percent.
The service sector was also expected to increase its stake in GDP to 38.4 percent in 2008 from 38.1 percent in 2007.
This year GDP would grow 8.4 percent to 8.5 percent, above an initial target of 8.2-8.5 percent, thanks to faster growth in all sectors, the MPI report delivered to the cabinet said.
In April, the World Bank forecast Vietnam's GDP growth at 8 percent for both 2007 and 2008. The Asian Development Bank said in March the Southeast Asian economy would grow 8.5 percent next year after an 8.3 percent expansion this year.
Vietnam joined the World Trade Organisation in January but foreign investors say infrastructure in key sectors such as transport, energy, telecoms, banking and financial needs huge investment.
The government would pursue a stable exchange rate policy and keep inflation lower than GDP growth next year, the report said without elaborating.
Vietnam has been struggling to control inflation as foreign investment pour into one of the world's fastest-growing economies, with the central bank buying dollars to keep the dong from appreciating.
Source: Reuters
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