The economic situation in the first four months of 2001 shows some positive changes and improvement in many respects compared to the same period last year. However, many difficulties remain, adversely affecting the realization of the socio-economic development targets in this year and the following years.

Industrial and agricultural production has achieved fairly quick quantitative growth but production cost is still high, and efficiency and competitiveness are still low; export has met with difficulties due to the drop of export prices of many merchandises, especially farm produce. Investment capital of the entire society remains low, especially investment in concentrated capital construction from the State budget and the investment credit of the State. Market prices have evolved in the direction of steep fall, affecting agricultural production and the life of farmers. The economic trend in the world and in the region is moving in an unfavorable direction, adversely affecting the economy of our country, especially export.

To overcome the above difficulties and limitations, and to well achieve the targets in the 2001 socio-economic development plan and create a fillip for development in the subsequent years, the Government lays down some additional solutions to executing the 2001 economic plan as follows:

1. To exempt or reduce tax on agricultural land use in 2001 for the following subjects:

a/ Tax exemption for all the poor households in the whole country (according to the criteria for poor households defined in Decision No. 1143/2000/QD/LDTB&XH of November 1, 2000 of the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs) and for all the households in the communes covered by Program 135.

b/ Reduction by 50% of the tax on paddy fields and coffee growing land of the other organizations, individuals and family households.

The central budget shall make up for the deficit suffered by the local budgets due to the implementation of the above policy on tax exemption and reduction.

2. Extension by six months of the temporary stocking of 1 million tons of rice for export stipulated in Decision No. 223/QD-TTg of March 6, 2001 of the Prime Minister. The enterprises assigned with the task of buying rice for temporary stocking shall have to find export markets for this stock and to continue to buy more rice in order to make up for the rice volume exported during the period of temporary stocking.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Trade and the People�s Committees of the provinces shall have to oversee and inspect the implementation of the above policy of buying rice for temporary stocking, prevent negative acts and ensure farmers against disadvantageous transactions.

3. Taking a further step in agricultural restructure:

a/ The People�s Committees of the provinces shall urgently complete the planning, at the same time immediately undertake the following restructuring measures:

- To reduce the land area under summer-autumn paddy in the Mekong river delta and in other regions where cultivation of this rice is not effectual and to switch to other plants and animals which are more efficient and have outlets.

- To draw up the plan and invest in developing areas for aquaculture especially in the coastal areas. The State shall provide assistance by investing in the infrastructure, especially in irrigation systems for these areas.

- There shall be no new planting of robusta coffee, and a part of the area currently under robusta coffee shall be replaced by arabica coffee where conditions permit.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Aquatic Resources shall have to guide and assist the localities in effecting the above restructuring process.

b/ The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is assigned with the task of studying for submission to the Prime Minister in the third quarter of 2001 projects of developing aquaculture and cultivation with products easily marketable such as maize, soya, cotton, mulberry, tobacco, vegetable oil, dairy cows, pigs; and projects of developing post-harvest technology with regard to rice, coffee... as well as draft policies to encourage various trades and crafts in the countryside.

4. On plant and animal seeds:

a/ To increase capital to develop seed centers and ensure basic conditions for the selection, cross-breeding, multiplication and importation of plant seeds and livestock breeds of high productivity, high quality and high commercial value.

b/ To add VND 50 billion for one-time assistance to farmers in plant seeds and livestock breeds.

c/ In June 2001, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall discuss with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance to submit to the Prime Minister a proposal on the need to increase investment in 2001 for the above targets. At the same time, it is necessary to complete as soon as possible the project on the "Bio-technology program" to be submitted to the Prime Minister for decision.

5. To encourage Vietnamese traders of all economic sectors to export any kind of merchandise not banned by law, irrespective of their branches and trades already registered for business.

To use the Export Assistance Fund according to Decision No. 195/1999/QD-TTg of September 27, 1999 of the Prime Minister to assist the enterprises and associations in their activities to expand the market and step up trade promotion, such as to assist part of the traveling cost in quest of market, to organize showrooms, exhibitions and storehouses, set up representative offices and trade promotion centers in foreign countries...

The Ministry of Finance shall discuss with the Ministry of Trade to submit to the Prime Minister in June 2001 a proposal on the mechanism of carrying out the above regulations as well as readjustment and supplement of the Regulation on commission payment in commercial brokerage by broadening the right to autonomy and the responsibility of the State enterprises in deciding the forms and levels of commission, the beneficiaries of such commissions, the form of accounting commissions... in a way suitable to characteristics of each transaction partner and to ensure the common business efficacy of the enterprise.

To encourage the diplomatic representations of Vietnam abroad (including commercial representatives) to conduct the export brokerage with commissions as provided for above.

6. Besides the export reward under Decision No. 195/1999/QD-TTg of September 27, 1999 of the Prime Minister, in 2001 another reward system based on the value of these exports: rice, coffee, canned fruits and vegetables and pork (not including exports under Government agreements and debt-payment exports) shall be applied to all enterprises of any economic sector. For a number of other exports, in the period to come, if they also meet with objective difficulties as the above-mentioned exports, they shall also be considered for application of this reward system.

The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Government Pricing Commission and the relevant ministries and branches in deciding concrete amounts of reward for each kind of export, publicize them right in June 2001 and organize the implementation.

7. The Ministry of Finance shall complete as soon as possible the Operating Regulation of the Export Assistance Credit Fund to submit to the Prime Minister for promulgation in June 2001 as basis for preferential loans and export credit guarantee (including deferred payment export credit for up to 720 days).

8. With regard to capital construction investment covered by the State budget, according to the approved plan, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance and the related ministries, branches and localities should concentrate on removing difficulties and step up the building tempo as planned. It is necessary to revise and re-appraise the implementation of the investment capital plan closely before allocating the remaining fund of the 2001 plan. To resolutely transfer the capital of the projects for which the procedures have not been completed, projects which are likely incapable of using all the capital as planned, and projects which have not filled the conditions to start construction in order to divert the capital to other projects and constructions that must be completed in 2001 and the ODA-funded projects which still lack reciprocal capital.

9. The ministries, branches and localities must urgently inspect and determine precisely the volume of capital construction of the projects in the plan covered by the State budget which have not paid all their debts and are still looking for sources for repayment. The list of such constructions must be sent to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry Finance within June 2001 in order to make an integrated report to the Prime Minister for measures of handling.

10. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the related ministries and branches in submitting to the Prime Minister within June 2001 a plan to supplement capital for the projects of infrastructure construction under the Program of Hunger Eradication and Poverty Alleviation, Program 135, the Program of solidification of irrigation canals and rural roads, the Program of aquaculture development, and projects for communication, water conservancy and infrastructure of the tourist industry (including the reconditioning and repair of classified historic and cultural relics), the infrastructure of the craft villages, important projects that need to be completed within 2001. Building tempo must be accelerated at the important projects; preparations for investment must be made to start a number of important projects which have been approved but did not have capital allocated at the beginning of the year.

In particular, with regard to Program 135, in addition to the supplementary fund for the projects under this program already mentioned above, the Government shall spend from VND 200 billion to 300 billion more to assist the building of inter-commune roads in the communes which are meeting with difficulties in the border areas.

The Development Assistance Fund shall provide zero-percent interest provisional loans to the local budgets to carry out projects on canal hardening, rural communication, infrastructure for aquaculture and for craft villages in the countryside.

11. Credit interest rates of the State are readjusted as follows:

a/ State credit interest rate for development investments is 5.4% /year.

The present beneficiaries of special preferential interest rate according to Point 5 of Resolution No.11/2000/NQ-CP of July 31, 2000 of the Government, Decision No.117/2000/QD-TTg of October 10, 2000, Decision No. 55/2001/QD-TTg of April 23, 2000 of the Prime Minister and Official Dispatch No. 485/CP-CN of May 18, 2000 of the Government shall from now on enjoy a common interest rate of 3% /year.

b/ The lending interest rate of the Bank for the Poor is 5.4%/year for Sector III and 6%/year for other sectors.

The interest rates mentioned at Points a and b above are applicable to the loans disbursed from June 1, 2001.

12. For projects of investors who are not State enterprises, if they use State credit capital for development investment, the investors shall decide by themselves the investment after the lending agency examines the financial plan and the debt repayment plan and agrees to the loan. The investor shall take self-responsibility for designing, estimating the expenditures and organizing the implementation of the project in conformity with the plan for development of the branch, locality and territory. The lending organization shall disburse the fund according to the implementation tempo of the project and shall recover the debts according to the signed credit contract. In case the above projects need to use land, the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally- run cities shall base themselves on proposals of the investors and the local land use plans to fill in the procedures for land assignment or lease as prescribed by law without any other condition attached. With regard to the investors who have already been assigned land (having paid the land use levy), they won�t have to change to land leasing when they carry out their production and/or business plans.

13. With regard to the projects guaranteed by the Development Assistance Fund, they shall not necessarily have to be guaranteed by mortgaged properties. The Development Assistance Fund shall coordinate with the lending agency in evaluating the borrowing and repayment plan to decide the guarantee and shall share responsibility with the lending organization in the handling of risk. The procedures to approve the guarantee must be very simple and convenient.

The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Vietnam State Bank in studying and submitting to the Prime Minister in June 2001 a project on the forms of credit guarantee, especially for medium and small enterprises.

14. To accelerate the process of reorganizing commercial banks. The State shall provide assistance fund in handling the debts in the second phase and the debts arising from objective causes without possibility of being repaid. At the same time, measures shall be taken to make the financial situation sound, raise the quality of the credits and the competitiveness of the commercial banks. To broaden the lending for the building of dwelling houses and the purchase of high-value movables. To supplement charter capital for the Bank for the Poor.

15. From 2001, the charge on the use of fund shall be uniformly collected at 0.15%/month for the State capital at enterprises. The Ministry of Finance is assigned with the task of guiding and organizing the implementation thereof.

16. This Resolution takes effect after its signing. The earlier prescriptions which are contrary to this Resolution are now annulled.

The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the presidents of the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to organize the implementation of this Resolution.

The Minister of Planning and Investment, the General Director of the General Department of Statistics shall have to monitor, inspect and sum up the implementation of this Resolution and to report monthly to the Government.

On behalf of the Government
Prime Minister
PHAN VAN KHAI