Minister of Planning and Investment: Investment under the guise of controlling land in sensitive areas, the ministry has not yet fully assessed

Minister of Planning and Investment answers questions before the National Assembly

The last industry leader to answer questions before the National Assembly at this session was Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, focusing on solutions to restore and develop the economy, support, remove difficulties, and disburse public investment capital.

Specifically, the questioning will focus on solutions to restore economic development in the new situation, solutions to remove difficulties for enterprises, cooperatives, and business households; investment preparation work, allocation of medium-term public investment plans; solutions to remove difficulties and obstacles to speed up the implementation of public investment projects, programs using ODA loans, preferential loans, etc.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung answered the main questions, along with Deputy Prime Ministers in charge of general economy, sectoral economy, Ministers of Finance, Transport, Construction, Agriculture and Rural Development...

Giving money to people will lead to the risk of increasing inflation.

The question raised by delegate Nguyen Van Hien about the cash support package, how to make it enough, Mr. Dung said that if we support cash, give money to people, there is a big risk of increasing inflation. The viewpoint is to support loosening the deficit and public debt within the range we can control, because if we do not loosen the deficit and public debt, it will be difficult to grow, we will not achieve the goals, plans and strategies set out, thus we will miss all the opportunities from the 4.0 Revolution, the golden population period.

The new shifts and structures that are forming will also miss the beat, so we should study to loosen public debt and deficit spending, so that when GDP scale increases, deficit spending and public debt will decrease, thus creating a vicious cycle.

Regarding the issue of regional connectivity raised by delegate Ha Phuoc Thang, Mr. Dung acknowledged that not much has been done due to the lack of regional planning, mechanisms, development cooperation and regional connectivity. The ministry is currently working on planning, trying to harmonize and unify among localities.

"We don't have a regional government, no regional budget, and no shared use, so it's difficult to agree on a common budget," said the minister.

Delegate Nguyen Van Hien (Lam Dong) cited the opinion of some experts that a large enough support package is needed to recover the economy, especially cash support, which could be equivalent to 3-4% of GDP. But the contradiction is that if the support package is large, debt will increase, the public debt ceiling may be exceeded, and if the support is not large enough, recovery will be difficult.

"What is the Minister's opinion on this issue? I would also like to send this question to the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister," said Mr. Hien.

Delegate Ha Phuoc Thang (Ho Chi Minh City) raised the issue of regional connectivity in the Southern Key Economic Zone, which contributes 45% of the country's GDP. He asked the Minister to tell him about the status of regional cooperation and connectivity in the past and what is the direction for the future?

"Can the Minister please tell us the key solutions to restore and develop the economy of the southern provinces and cities that are being affected by the epidemic?", delegate Thang asked further.

Delegate Huynh Thanh Phuong (Tay Ninh) questioned the loose discipline in public investment, especially the assessment and appraisal of investment efficiency of projects that have not been done well, leading to some projects being ineffective and wasting resources...

"What is the cause of the limitation, what is the Minister's responsibility, and what are the solutions to overcome it?", delegate Phuong asked. "I would also like to send this question to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh."

"The disbursement has not been completed yet. How can we disburse the stimulus package when it comes?"

Explaining further about the planning of the Mekong Delta region mentioned in the debate by delegate Pham Van Hoa, Mr. Dung said that this is an important planning, aiming towards sustainable development, so it has many meanings, solving the challenges of climate change, poverty reduction, national defense and security.

"I will report to the Government, and promise from a subjective and personal perspective that if the contents are completed, it will be approved this December based on consensus," said Mr. Dung.

Regarding the investment solution for border economic zones proposed by delegate Chu Thi Hong Thai, Mr. Dung affirmed that investment has been focused in the past time. This is an important area but needs to have more necessary investment resources soon to promote economic development and import and export.

How are the crisis support packages that have been implemented in the past different from the current support package being developed by delegate Vo Thi Minh Sinh? Mr. Dung said that the previous focus was on production, business, export, and investment stimulus.

Accordingly, the previous package helped overcome the crisis, being one of the few countries with positive growth, but also brought limitations and shortcomings such as policies mainly focused on the public sector, but businesses had difficulties in investment, large interest rate support policies, lack of synchronization of other monetary and fiscal policies, so reducing efficiency, profiteering, capital did not flow into production but into the securities and real estate sectors.

Leading to macroeconomic impacts, high inflation, scattered investment, outstanding debt, waste, many projects stopped but the consequences could not be resolved.

From practice, Mr. Dung believes that there needs to be a comprehensive program. Because we have not yet fully disbursed, and there will be another investment stimulus package in the near future, how can we disburse? With the current land clearance and disbursement work, how can we disburse? Support policies must also focus on key points, control risks, and closely monitor implementation.

Regarding the time of recovery, there is no consensus yet, but according to Mr. Dung, recovery means bringing travel activities back to normal, with growth. If recovery begins in 2022, the recovery process will be at the end of the year, and if the packages are well controlled, it will return to normal.

Regarding the situation of enterprises dissolving and ceasing operations as mentioned by delegate Mai Thi Phuong Hoa, Mr. Dung acknowledged that enterprises are facing difficulties and the number of enterprises withdrawing from the market is increasing. Therefore, the solution in 2020 is to focus on maintaining production, retaining workers, supporting enterprises to survive, quickly opening the economy, combining good epidemic prevention, and helping enterprises recover...

"Currently, industrial parks have recovered 80-90%, businesses that previously suffered losses of 40-60% have now returned to establish new ones," Mr. Dung added that Resolution 105 is highly appreciated by businesses, partially removing difficulties, helping to support obstacles to maintain production, and not transferring orders.

He added that for Nike alone, they have about 200 businesses with 500,000 employees. The tense situation has caused 30% of orders to be transferred abroad, not completely transferred outside but within Nike's system, and now it has returned to 100%.

"They recently met the Prime Minister at COP26, highly appreciated and thanked the Government, and believed in long-term investment in the future," he said.

When will the economic recovery stimulus package be available?

Delegate Chu Thi Hong Thai (Lang Son) stated that the border economic zone has not met the needs, is commensurate with local potential and compatible with the investment scale of neighboring countries. What is the solution for the coming time?

Delegate Vo Thi Minh Sinh (Nghe An) asked when the economic recovery stimulus package will be available? How is it different from previous packages? When will the economy be considered recovered?

Delegate Mai Thi Phuong Hoa (Nam Dinh) questioned the reasons for the high number of bankrupt enterprises and solutions?

Delegate Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap) questioned the Minister of Planning and Investment about the fact that the slow disbursement was due to the locality, not the ministry. However, according to Mr. Hoa, important national projects are appraised by central ministries and branches, so the responsibility lies with the central ministries and branches, not the locality. The Minister needs to clarify the responsibility? Is the allocation of capital and project registration at the same time an inadequacy that needs to be adjusted?

Responding to the debate of delegate Vu Trong Kim about hidden investment, Mr. Dung acknowledged that this is a big problem, but he has not yet had the opportunity to accurately grasp the actual situation of the locality.

"With the responsibility of the ministry, we will study and advise the Government to have policies according to the law to manage land where foreign investors hide under the guise of individual investors, especially in coastal areas, close to the border. This is a sensitive issue, we will study and report to the National Assembly later," said Mr. Dung.

Regarding the use of public investment to clear land and create clean land funds, the minister said that he has studied this issue. Because we use budget money to create clean land funds and sites, if we cannot auction them, the project will be suspended, which can lead to loss and waste. Therefore, the ministry will continue to study.

Regarding the question of delegate Pham Thi Kieu about traffic connecting the Central Highlands and the Southeast, he said that without connection, the regions will have difficulty developing because of division and separatism.

Regarding the target of 1.5 million enterprises by 2025 set by delegate Vu Tien Loc, Mr. Dung recalled that the previous term set 1 million enterprises but failed to achieve it. Therefore, we will focus on encouraging and supporting enterprises to hope to strive.

Fundamental and breakthrough solutions focus on legal policies to support businesses, create an environment for entrepreneurs and businesses to invest money to establish businesses, digital transformation support programs, agriculture, investment in industrial and high-tech sectors, etc.

He also added that for business households, it will be necessary to institutionalize laws related to nearly 5 million business households in order to manage and create conditions for business households to develop and convert to enterprises, then the target of 1.5 enterprises will be achieved.

Regarding the law on supporting industries, he expressed his support because to carry out industrialization and modernization, there needs to be an industry, supporting industry and a separate set of laws, otherwise it will be very difficult for development policies to only focus on processing and assembly.

How to control Chinese "ownership" of land in Vietnam?

Delegate Vu Trong Kim (Nam Dinh) debated the 9th session of the 14th National Assembly, delegates questioned the fact that 162,000 hectares are owned by Chinese people, including 63,000 hectares of border and coastal land. On the other hand, there are Vietnamese people "disguising" to buy for foreigners. How does the Ministry of Planning and Investment control and inspect this? What issues does the Ministry propose to the Government to amend the Land Law and the Investment Law to control this issue?

Delegate Vu Thi Lien Huong (Quang Ngai) questioned the solution for localities to create clean land funds for auctioning for projects?

Delegate Pham Thi Kieu (Dak Nong) asked about specific solutions to promote investment in the transportation system connecting the Central Highlands with the Southeast region and the Central Coast?

Delegate Vu Tien Loc (Hanoi) asked what breakthrough solutions the ministry has prepared to achieve the goal of having 1.5 million effectively operating enterprises by 2025? What are the fundamental solutions to develop the supporting industry? How does the ministry advise the Government to manage family businesses?

$2 billion package for Mekong Delta under discussion for implementation

Responding to the debate of delegate Ta Van Ha, Mr. Dung affirmed that the problem does not lie in the procedures, so it requires ministries and localities to seriously review it in the near future, and not "blame" it on the law. He affirmed that the arising problems will continue to be reviewed in the coming time.

Admitting that he was partly responsible for the impractical number of projects proposed, making it difficult to disburse funds, Mr. Dung said that he was also partly being considerate, so he would review more closely in the future.

Regarding the support package, the minister added that it will focus on supporting social security, training for workers, supporting tax exemptions and extensions, creating conditions for cash flow support; supporting industries such as agriculture, forestry, start-up businesses; developing infrastructure, promoting public investment; ensuring water security, dykes, responding to climate change, etc.

At the same time, continue to reform institutions, administration, risk management policies, link macroeconomic stability, and ensure major balances of the economy.

Regarding the planning of the Mekong Delta that delegate Nguyen Tuan Anh raised, Mr. Dung affirmed that this is an important issue, currently being submitted to the Government and appraised for approval in the coming time. With the addition of 2 billion USD in targeted support for the region, he said that this is the amount that the previous Government committed to increase to invest in infrastructure and respond to climate change.

"This involves many issues, donors, we have now reached an agreement. Regarding ministries, we will look at the legal system to approach projects or targeted programs to implement according to domestic procedures or ODA procedures," Mr. Dung said, adding that he is currently reporting to the Government to approve amendments to Decree 56 to implement project establishment and accelerate implementation.

Regarding the issue of project implementation allocation and related responsibilities raised by delegate Vu Thi Luu Mai, Mr. Dung said that in the future, the site clearance part will be handed over to the locality and the central budget can be used, combined with the local budget to solve the problem more flexibly, clearly decentralizing responsibilities.

Slow disbursement of public investment capital, is it the responsibility of the ministry or locality?

Delegate Nguyen Minh Tam (Quang Binh) questioned specific policies and solutions to effectively restore and develop the economy?

Delegate Nguyen Tuan Anh (Long An) raised the issue of Prime Minister's Directive 23 requiring approval of the Mekong Delta planning in the fourth quarter of 2020, but the planning has not been approved yet. What is the reason and when will the planning be approved? On the other hand, what is the implementation status of the additional 2 billion USD to develop the Mekong Delta?

Delegate Vu Thi Luu Mai (Hanoi) questioned that in addition to the impact of the epidemic, the minister said that the responsibility for transferring a large source of public investment capital lies with the managing ministry or the locality?

Regarding the proposal to evaluate international experience in support packages and the viewpoint on setting socio-economic goals of delegate Ma Thi Thuy, Minister Dung said that the world has policies and decisions very quickly to respond to an unprecedented pandemic, so it should introduce a large-scale policy package, regardless of financial discipline, accept the increase of the public debt ceiling, and implement and do it immediately. Thanks to that, with vaccine coverage, countries have had rapid growth.

Many countries have support methods such as cash distribution, insurance support, tax exemptions in some industries, cash flow support for some industries, investment in infrastructure... Monetary policy maintains low interest rates, increases credit, keeps debt groups unchanged...

According to Mr. Dung, when studying the domestic and foreign situation, the ministry determined that there should be a large support package, suitable time, ensuring macro balance, supporting both supply and demand, linking fiscal and monetary policies, in line with public finance plans, restructuring the economy, including long-term plans such as exports, domestic consumption, ensuring feasibility, supporting key areas, etc.

Accordingly, the support policy will focus on people, businesses, cooperatives, and sectors severely affected by the pandemic, and those with the potential to recover quickly and contribute greatly to the economy. The support is expected to be implemented in 2022-2023 and if approved at the end-of-year meeting, it will be implemented in early 2022.

Regarding the targets set for growth, budget deficit... raised by delegate Nguyen Ngoc Son (Hai Duong) about the risk of increasing "imported inflation", Mr. Dung said that the basis for determining the targets is based on the practical situation, taking into account the ability to control the epidemic in the fourth quarter of 2021 and the ability of the economy to recover, reopen, and sectors that contribute to growth and inflation are controlled.

Concerned that the support packages and public investment will increase the deficit, Mr. Dung said that it could increase the deficit by 1%. However, when implementing these packages, they will help solve the problem of growth, economy, and employment, so they will not have a big impact on the macro economy.

Regarding the slow disbursement of public investment capital, Mr. Dung pointed out the reasons due to the lack of thorough project preparation, site clearance, and the lack of counterpart funding for bidding work... Therefore, the Minister said that the Government's resolutions will be implemented more drastically and seriously, and the responsibility of the leader will be enhanced. Promote the role of the Prime Minister's Special Working Group, and review institutional problems related to the disbursement of public investment capital.

Voters said that the use of loans and ODA capital in some places and programs is ineffective and wasteful, as pointed out by delegate Tran Quang Minh. Mr. Dung said that these projects must follow domestic procedures and those of the sponsor. In the context of social distancing, even a small adjustment requires foreign agreements, but travel and exchange problems take time, and the import of machinery, labor experts, quarantine, and travel...

"In the coming time, we will review with local ministries and branches to promote more effective implementation. Any projects that are not effective or suitable will be discussed with the sponsor to close the project, not to prolong it and cause waste," Mr. Dung affirmed.

Regarding facilitating localities with potential, it is necessary to focus on building national planning, regional planning, land, available space, investment resources, infrastructure, facilitating investment attraction for more balanced development between regions.

Delegates begin the question and answer session.

Opening the question and answer session, Minister Nguyen Chi Dung shared that since the beginning of the term, the ministry has advised the Government to submit to the National Assembly for approval the 5-year plan for 2021-2025, medium-term public investment, economic restructuring, etc.

Advise on amending and promulgating many important laws with innovative thinking, decentralization, and proactive ownership of all levels and sectors to mobilize and effectively use resources.

However, the implementation process has encountered difficulties and obstacles. The Ministry is researching, proposing and amending difficulties and obstacles in building 1 law to replace 10 laws, including 6 laws related to investment and business.

According to Mr. Dung, the ministry is developing an economic recovery and development plan to submit to the Government for consideration and approval at the next session of the National Assembly. This is a complicated issue with many important issues, so the ministry wants to listen to the delegates' profound, dedicated, and responsible opinions to soon complete the program to submit to the competent authority for consideration and approval.

Delegate Ma Thi Thuy (Tuyen Quang) proposed to evaluate and share experiences of international support packages? Viewpoints on scope and objectives of economic development and recovery programs?

Delegate Nguyen Ngoc Son (Hai Duong) raised the issue that the 2022 economic targets submitted by the Government to the National Assembly include a GDP growth target of 6%, CPI of about 4% and a deficit of about 4%. What is the basis for forecasting these targets? Does the deficit ratio include the Government's support packages expected to be submitted to the National Assembly in the near future?

Delegate Au Thi Mai (Tuyen Quang) questioned the causes and solutions to promote disbursement of public investment capital and remove difficulties, speed up disbursement of ODA capital?

Delegate Tran Quang Minh (Quang Binh) said that some voters believe that the use of development loans, especially ODA capital, in some places is wasteful and even violates the law. What is the management role of the ministry and what are the solutions?

On the other hand, there is currently a disparity in development between localities, and poor provinces have great difficulty in attracting investment. What solutions does the Ministry have to advise the Government on policies to prioritize provinces that are facing difficulties in promoting and attracting investment?

According to Tuoi Tre