Gov’t sets 2018 GDP goal at 6.5-6.7% The gross domestic product (GDP) of Viet Nam this year is expected to reach 6.7 per cent, perfectly on point with the previously set target.   Top leaders (first row) attend the opening day of the National Assembly 4th plenary session on Monday. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Monday morning delivered a report on the national socio-economic development in 2017 in the opening ceremony of the fall plenary session of the National Assembly. Việt Nam’s GDP achieved 6.41 per cent over the last nine months of the year, with growth on the momentum again, after a disappointing first quarter, said the PM. “Such positive growth shows that the economy restructuring, in line with the reform in growth model, is starting to take effect, as (Veệt Nam’s economy) gradually becomes less dependent on natural resource exploitation, especially oil and gas,” Phúc said. 2018’s targets The PM also revealed the government’s development targets for next year, of which the GDP is set to be between 6.5 and 6.7 per cent. The consumer price index (CPI) increase rate will be around 4 per cent, exports and imports will increase by 7 to 8 per cent, while the trade deficit must be under 3 per cent. The government will strive to bring down the number of poor households on the multidimensional poverty standard by 1-1.3 per cent. The unemployment rate in cities should be no higher than 4 per cent. In keeping with the ambitious plan to implement a universal health insurance, the government set a goal that at least 85.2 per cent of citizens should be covered by health insurance in 2018. Economic challenges Head of the National Assembly Committee on Economic, Vũ Hồng Thanh, warned about several challenges that would undermine the country’s economic development in the near future. Bad debts have been a prolonged heated issue over the last few years. The bad debts recorded in the banking system were below 3 per cent, Thanh said, but the rate in the whole economy was very high. The equitisation of State-owned enterprises was ongoing but problems remained in the evaluation process and the selection of shareholders, he said. The business environment was far from pro-business as the government intended, as business conditions, or so-called minor licences, were still blocking the way. “While the number of new firms has been increasing, those suspending operations or awaiting dissolution were on the rise as well,” Thanh said. The minor licence issue was also one of the biggest complaints of Vietnamese citizens, said the Viet Nam Fatherland Front Central Committee Chairman Tran Thanh Man. “(The people) ask that the government accelerates the reform for simplified administrative procedures to assure the transparency and to come up with breakthrough policies favourable to businesses,” he said.  VNS