Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc chairs the meeting in Hà Nội on Sunday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has urged ministries and agencies to continue taking measures to control the COVID-19 pandemic while preventing negative economic developments.

At a meeting on statistics and socio-economic development held in Hà Nội on Sunday, PM Phúc said to ensure the highest possible growth rate, it was essential to continue disbursing public investment capital, improving monetary and financial policies to create conditions for businesses to develop and promote private and social investment.

He pointed to the need to keep inflation at under 4 per cent, tap opportunities to promote exports, take measures to reduce costs for citizens and businesses and ensure enough supply of basic commodities for all regions, particularly in areas hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He ordered ministries and localities to have appropriate development plans and closely work with each other in statistical activities and update statistics in a timely manner to reflect the real development of the economy.

The Government leader asked ministries and agencies to review and update development plans for the third quarter of the year as well as for the whole of 2020 and 2021. It was necessary to have specific calculations to support sectors, businesses, co-operatives and workers.

At the meeting, the General Statistics Office reported the disbursement of public investment sourced from the State budget in July and in the past seven months increased its highest rate in the past four years.

State budget sourced public investment disbursement was estimated at VNĐ45.7 trillion (US$1.97 billion) in July, up 51.8 per cent against the same period last year.

The disbursement of public investment totalled VNĐ203 trillion in the past seven months, equivalent to 42.7 per cent of the yearly target and up 27.2 per cent over the same period in 2019.  

Export revenue in July reached US$23 billion, up 0.3 per cent compared with the same period last year.

The US remains the biggest importer of Việt Nam in July with revenue of $37.9 billion, a year-on-year rise of 15 per cent. It was followed by China, the EU, ASEAN, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

The import turnover of goods in July was estimated at $22 billion, down 2.9 per cent in comparison with the same period last year.

The national consumer price index (CPI) in July grew by 0.4 per cent against June and 3.39 per cent year-on-year. The CPI rose in July on the back of higher prices of petrol, gas, electricity and water due to increasing demand. — VNS