8 socio-economic difficulties Vietnam faces in 2024

On October 9, the National Assembly Standing Committee gave its opinion on the Government's Report on the results of the implementation of the 2024 socio-economic development plan; the projected socio-economic development plan for 2025. Mr. Vu Hong Thanh, Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic Committee, stated: The Standing Committee of the Economic Committee requested to pay more attention and evaluate a number of issues. Accordingly, first, the weak recovery of aggregate demand, in which consumer demand increased lower than expected in the context of inflation under more pressure in the last months of the year, public investment and private investment increased slowly; the service trade deficit has not improved. In the first 9 months of 2024, total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue (excluding price factors) increased by 5.8%, lower than the 7.8% increase in the same period in 2023. There are still 31/44 ministries, central agencies and 28/63 localities with public investment disbursement rates in the first 8 months of 2024 below the national average. The Government is requested to clarify the causes and have effective solutions to accelerate public investment disbursement and promote economic growth.

Second, production and business activities of enterprises still face many difficulties. In the first 9 months of 2024, an average of 18.2 thousand enterprises withdrew from the market per month. The ratio of enterprises withdrawing from the market to enterprises entering and re-entering the market in the first 9 months of 2024 was 89.7%, higher than the 79.3% in 2023.

Third, the financial and monetary markets still have potential challenges, bad debt is high, the handling of weak banks is slow, credit growth in the first months of the year is still low, the ability to absorb capital and access credit capital of enterprises is still limited. Exchange rates have had periods of unusual fluctuations affecting business operations; gold market management still has many shortcomings, causing pressure on the foreign exchange market and exchange rates. Cyber security risks for the Vietnamese financial system have become constant and present with unpredictable consequences.

Fourth, the real estate market has shown signs of recovery but is still facing difficulties. The imbalanced product structure in the market has pushed up the prices of apartments in the primary and secondary segments, making it difficult for people with real housing needs to access. Land prices in inner-city and suburban districts of Hanoi have shown signs of increasing rapidly again, especially in districts with information about upgrading to districts. In particular, recently, the situation of "abandoning deposits" after winning auctions has recurred, negatively affecting the price level and the housing market. "The situation of monopolization, price inflation, creating waves, and land speculation has pushed up land prices, making buying and selling almost exclusively take place among speculators while making it difficult for people and businesses to access land because land prices are high, beyond their ability to pay" - the Economic Committee stated.

Fifth, some bottlenecks have not been effectively resolved, such as the slow implementation of the National Power Plan and the National Energy Master Plan. The work of formulating and implementing the Law and Ordinance Development Program still has some limitations and shortcomings. Some regulations and administrative procedures in some agencies, units, localities, and business conditions are still cumbersome and have not been thoroughly reduced, causing difficulties for businesses and people.

Sixth, counterfeit goods, poor quality goods, and goods of unknown origin continue to be one of the pressing social issues, leaving negative consequences such as affecting the health and finances of consumers, reducing consumer confidence in the transparency of the goods market, and reducing the reputation of genuine manufacturers and businesses.

Seventh, some social issues need attention. The labor market still has potential risks. The rate of informal employment is still high. The shortage of medicine continues; the situation of advertising and selling foods such as medicines and functional foods of unknown origin on the internet has not been thoroughly resolved, causing outrage in society and affecting people's health. The situation of overcharging at the beginning of the school year still occurs. In 2024, public opinion was stirred up by the case of "fake scholars, real degrees" at the highest level of training; however, the state management agency of education has not yet had a satisfactory, public, and transparent handling measure with the public. The lives of a part of the people are still difficult, especially since storm No. 3 Yagi caused very serious damage to people and property and could have a negative impact on our country's hunger eradication and poverty reduction work. Accidents, injuries, and child abuse still occur, including serious cases of child abuse and violence, causing public outrage.

Eighth, some types of crimes and traffic safety and order have complicated developments. The work of preventing, combating and combating crimes and law violations still faces many challenges. Crimes against social order still occur frequently, notably drug crimes, organized crimes, crimes using weapons and explosives to commit crimes, human trafficking, crimes related to "black credit", and property fraud. Crimes related to corruption and economics continue to have complicated developments. Violations are mainly online fraud, which is increasing with many sophisticated and frequently changing methods and tricks, making it difficult to detect and combat. Traffic accidents are still complicated, with serious occupational accidents and fires occurring, causing damage to the lives and property of people and businesses.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/8-kho-khan-kinh-te-xa-hoi-viet-nam-doi-dien-trong-nam-2024-10291942.html