VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam’s yearly per capita income has been estimated to have reached USD1,960, said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at the opening ceremony of the Vietnam Development Partnership Forum (VDPF) in Hanoi on December 5.

According to the PM, the Vietnamese GDP will reach nearly USD176 billion and the national foreign currency reserves will be equal to 12 weeks of imports.

The VDPF was organised this year for the first time to replace the Consultative Group Meeting from previous years, as Vietnam has become a development partnership country, whereas it received international donations for more than 20 years.

The government leader said that the Vietnamese economy has overcome a great number of difficulties and is headed towards a gradual recovery and a higher growth rate.

In 2013, Vietnam’s GDP is expected to reach 5.4%, and is forecast to climb to 5.8% in 2014 and 6% in 2015.

The PM also noted that inflation in expected to be around 6% in 2013, which would be a record over the past decade, from 18.13% in 2011.

In the past three years, Vietnam has seen a high export values, which are expected to be USD121 billion in the first 11 months, up by 16.2% compared to the same period of last year. Meanwhile, the trade deficit is forecast to sharply decrease to USD500 million this year.

Dung also said that both deposit and lending interest rates have fallen sharply, creating favourable conditions for enterprises to get loans.

According to the PM, this year’s trade deficit has been raised to 5.3% of GDP in order to prioritise development in investment and debt payment, but the rate will be gradually be cut starting in 2015.

The Vietnamese government will tighten control over public, governmental and foreign debts so as to ensure they are at safe levels, the PM emphasised.

Source: DTriNews