Gov't acts to prevent economic recession

Hanoi (VNA) - The Government has urged ministries, agencies and
localities to urgently adopt and implement action programmes to cope with
the recession in production and exports due to impacts of the global
financial crisis and economic downturn.

It issued on Dec. 11 a resolution on urgent solutions for preventing
economic slump, maintaining growth rate and ensuring social security.

The resolution stresses the focal and urgent task is to exert all efforts
to obtain the target of 6.5 percent GDP growth rate for 2009.

It says ministries, agencies and localities should apply a package of
solutions to boost production and exports, stimulate consumption and
investment, execute flexible financial and monetary policies, and ensure
social security.

It stresses that they should concentrate on implementing the Government's
action programme on agriculture, farmers and rural areas, that aims to
remove difficulties and support agro-forestry-fisheries production, speed up
domestic production of consumer goods, and prioritise production of
advantaged items that are able to replace imported similarities, use
domestic material sources and employ many labourers.

The resolution also extends the deadline for 2008 capital disbursement for
State budget-funded projects to the end of June 2009.

The Government decides to allocate in advance 1.5 trillion VND from the
Government bonds to build and upgrade irrigation works and dyke systems, and
improve local capacity in preventing floods and storms in the Red River
delta region.

It plans to continue its regulations on market-based prices for such items
as coal, electricity, fresh water and bus fares, and apply flexible
financial and monetary policies, including slackening tax payment for
businesses.

To ensure social security, the Government plans to promptly carry out
measures to provide foods and money to help people in flood-stricken areas
to repair their homes, prevent epidemics and normalise their production.

It will issue investment promotion policies for rapid and sustainable
poverty reduction in 61 poor districts, implement an unemployment insurance
policy in accordance with the Law on Social Insurance, and increase the
national food reserves to about 150,000 tonnes of rice equivalent to avoid
hunger in areas that are hit by natural disasters.-Enditem