VietNamNet Bridge – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has told the Ministry of Industry and Trade to sanction those responsible for the wrongful fish sauce survey conducted by the Vietnam Standards and Consumers Association (Vinastas), said Minister and Chairman Mai Tien Dung of the Government Office.

Minister and Chairman Mai Tien Dung of the Government Office - Photo: VGP

The ministry is tasked with forcing Vinastas to make a correction concerning the misinformation about the survey, making clear the association’s irregularities, and sanctioning violators in line with the prevailing rules, Dung told a media briefing after the monthly cabinet meeting in Hanoi on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Home Affairs is assigned to check Vinastas’s compliance with its charter and deal with the association’s wrongdoing. The ministry must also clarify Vinastas’ legal status as the protector of consumer rights.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Information and Communications must deal with reporters who failed to verify information about Vinastas’s wrongful fish sauce survey.

Earlier, Prime Minister Phuc had ordered the Ministry of Public Security to launch an investigation into this case.

On the economic development front, the Prime Minister at the cabinet meeting told ministries, agencies and local governments to spare no effort to help businesses perform well so that this year’s growth target can be achieved, Dung of the Government Office said.

They must remove any hindrances to business activity and help enterprises gain easy access to bank loans.

Vietnam’s economy should expand 7.1-7.5% in the fourth quarter if the nation attains the growth target of 6.3-6.5% in all of 2016 as requested by the Government.

Vietnam’s socio-economic performance has been positive in January-November. The economy has continued recovering with agricultural production turning better in the aftermath of natural disasters and April’s mass fish deaths on the central coast.  

Industrial production, export, retail and tourism have fared better than in the same period last year.

Inflation has been put under control. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.48% in November from a month earlier and 4.5% versus last December.

Credit grew 14.03% in January-November and interest rates remained stable. The recent strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the Vietnam dong resulted from a knee-jerk reaction as the greenback got firmer against other hard currencies on world markets.

Liquidity in the banking system has been ample while dollar demand by individuals and organizations has been met. The gold market has stabilized too.

Capital disbursements for investment projects have met 70.2% of the 2016 plan. Foreign direct investment (FDI) disbursements have reached an estimated US$14.3 billion, up 8.3% year-on-year.

Notably, the number of startups has exceeded 100,000 in the 11-month period and over 24,000 suspended businesses have resumed operations.

SGT