VietNamNet Bridge - The petrol price increase was the major cause behind the higher consumer price index (CPI) in April, the highest increase in the last five years in the same period.  

While total receipts of the state in the first four months of the year were VND317 trillion, total expenses reached VND370 trillion. The Ministry of Finance’s April report released on May 9 once again showed that the state budget is limited.

Many incapable investors had to give up their projects as they could not survive the frozen market of the last few years. Now is the right time for financially powerful investors to take over these projects at reasonable prices.

VietNamNet Bridge - The Vietnamese business community thinks the value of tea and energy-drink manufacturer Tan Hiep Phat has decreased to $500 million due to the infamous fly-in-the-bottle scandal.

Vietnam has a good legal framework concerning environment pollution, but the environment remains polluted, and forests have been devastated and rivers poisoned with untreated waste water. 

VietNamNet Bridge - The difficulties Vietnam has to face in the next five years will increase as ODA loans will be cut by 50 percent, while new loans will bear an interest rate of 3 percent.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam is capable of meeting the requirements to establish an aircraft maintenance center, but it has not put forward the idea. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Many unfavorable conditions may make the 6.7 percent GDP growth rate target in 2016 unattainable, economists say. 

VietNamNet Bridge - The public debt has hit a ceiling, the state budget is under strain, and enterprises’ competitiveness remains weak – all these will be great challenges for new cabinet.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Cao Si Kiem, a deputy from Thai Binh Province, spoke to the newspaper Nong thon Ngay nay (Countryside Today) about his dreams concerning the new cabinet members.

VietNamNet Bridge - Only 50 percent of Vietnamese population can be listed as ‘middle class’ if considering their real annual incomes. However, 96 percent of Vietnamese think they belong to the middle class.

VietNamNet Bridge - The revenue of the state budget is not big enough to cover expenses, but Vietnam cannot continue borrowing big money.

One of the measurements of development in Vietnam, as in any country, is the level of foreign direct investment (FDI) say economists, because it represents a long-term commitment by foreign companies to the economy.

Private businesses, according to economists, have been hampered by state-owned enterprises (SOEs), foreign invested enterprises (FIEs) and state management agencies. 

VietNamNet Bridge - The bankers that were seriously criticized by the local press in 2015 were those that managed banks involved in bad debt scandals.

VietNamNet Bridge - The problems of the Chinese economy have had a negative impact on Vietnam’s economy, including the financial market.

Core inflation in 2016 will not be much higher than that of 2015, at about 3 percent, while the inflation rate will be a little bit lower than core inflation, about 2-3 percent. The exchange rate and interest rate would bear hard pressure.

VietNamNet Bridge - The topic of the dialogue at the Vietnam Development Partner Forum (VDPF), the forum for Vietnam and its development partners, was about the resources Vietnam will rely on to develop its economy. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Analysts have said the strong investment wave of investors from South Korea, Japan and the US would act as a counterpoise to rising Chinese investment.

VietNamNet Bridge - The budget deficit is higher than the permitted level, while the public debt nearly has reached an alarming rate. But huge projects capitalized at trillions of dong are still proposed.