Vietnam's government has strengthened measures to accelerate economic growth and control inflation amid external conflicts and geopolitical volatility, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Van Thang said on October 31 at the second session of the 16th National Assembly.
Growth and living standards
Thang said 2026 has been difficult for the global and Vietnamese economies. Geopolitical and military conflicts affected energy markets and pushed up fuel prices from the second quarter, raising the prices of many goods and services.
In the third quarter, the United States imposed an additional 12.5% tariff on Vietnamese goods. About 70% of Vietnam's exports to the US consequently faced additional tariffs, creating difficulties for businesses.
Vietnam's GDP grew by approximately 9.01% in the first nine months of 2026, placing the country among those with the highest growth rates in the world. Thang said growth should also be judged by how effectively people's livelihoods are protected and whether social welfare and business support are implemented.
The State provided about 360 trillion VND (13.95 billion USD) in tax and other financial support for people and businesses. More than 200 trillion VND went to social welfare programmes in healthcare and education during the first nine months.
To meet the full-year growth target of 10%, GDP would need to expand by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Thang called this a major challenge but not an impossible task, saying the economy still has momentum and room to expand.
In the fourth quarter, the Government will address bottlenecks in institutions, land, administrative procedures, construction materials, and businesses' access to capital and markets. It will also accelerate eligible projects.
The Government will support investment, consumption and exports, help businesses maintain and diversify markets, secure more orders and increase value added, and support localities serving as growth engines.
Public investment
Thang referred to Resolution No. 27/2026/QH16 on the 2026–2030 medium-term public investment plan. The National Assembly approved about 3.42 quadrillion VND.
The Government approved an allocation plan for 3.15 quadrillion VND, or 92% of the authorised amount. The Prime Minister assigned detailed funding of 1.98 quadrillion VND, 1.5 times the amount assigned during the previous term. Specific projects and programmes were identified for the remaining amount of more than 1 quadrillion VND.
By the end of September 2026, the country had disbursed 63% of the annual plan, 203 trillion VND more in absolute terms than during the same period last year. Updated figures on October 29 showed disbursement above 720 trillion VND, or more than 75% of the plan.
Several ministries, central agencies and local administrations have yet to meet targets, and eight localities have relatively high outstanding advance payments. As 2026 is the first year of the medium-term plan, many new projects required advance funding. The Government expects that share to decline as supervision strengthens.
Full disbursement could add about 2.5 percentage points to fourth-quarter growth and approximately 1.7 percentage points to Vietnam's full-year economic growth in 2026.
Inflation target
To keep inflation at 4.5%, the Government has taken measures that keep domestic fuel prices considerably lower than in many other countries.
The Government instructed Vietnam Electricity (EVN) to reduce costs and lower retail electricity prices by about 2% by March 31, 2027. Together with scrapping the excise tax on petrol, the measures are expected to provide an additional margin of about 0.07 percentage points for keeping inflation within the National Assembly's target.
Thang said the Government would continue coordinated fiscal, monetary and price-management measures while maintaining policies on tax and fee exemptions, reductions and deferrals.
Sources: VietnamPlus / Vietnam News Agency
