HANOI: State budget revenue surpassed the yearly target by five per cent to hit VND957 trillion (US$42.5 billion) as of December 28, despite economic difficulties. The information was released by Deputy Minister of Finance Vu Thi Mai during a conference in Ha Noi yesterday.
Despite this achievement, Mai admitted the finance sector was still facing many difficulties. The fight against smuggling and trade fraud was struggling, while progress on equitising state-own enterprises and divestment remained slow compared to the requirements set out, Mai said.
According to the Ministry of Finance, State budget revenues in 2016 were expected to reach VND1,014.5 trillion ($45.08 billion), of which budget collections from crude oil products would top VND54.5 trillion ($2.4 billion), with an output of 14.02 million tonnes.
Total budget spending is forecast to be VND1,273 trillion ($56.57 billion). Budget overspending is expected to reach an estimated VND254 trillion ($11.28 billion), equal to 4.95 per cent of GDP.
Attending the event, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh asked the finance ministry to implement tight fiscal policies in order to support production and business, continue stabilising the macro economy, control inflation and enhance the competitiveness of the country’s economy.
Ninh said the ministry should review the expenditure of the State budget, adding that spending was increasing too rapidly and many localities were wasting their budgets. According to the ministry, the nation’s public debt was estimated at 61.3 per cent of GDP by the year end, within the Government’s limit of 65 per cent.
Ninh said that public debt was growing because of the rising demand for development and investment. Considering the current structure of public debt, Ninh said domestic debts with short-term, high interest rates were adding pressure to public debt.
Ninh order the ministry to keep a close tab on State budget spending, market prices and public debts, while fine-tuning policies on taxation, customs, budgets, corporate financial management, the securities market and accounting-auditing services in line with economic restructuring.
Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung said the finance sector would continue to supervise lending and loan repayments, particularly new loans, to ensure the debt ratio stayed within the permitted level. At the same time, it would tightly monitor the use of capital from these sources. Dung also suggested raising the ratio of long-term and low-interest loans to help restructure public debt.
