VIETNAM
Government Agencies in Vietnam have been asked to propose higher fees for state-operated services after the country recorded the lowest six-month inflation in three years.
Vietnam’s average consumer price index (CPI) in the first half of 2019 increased 2.64 per cent year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
Falling food prices as a result of abundant domestic supply, falling telecom prices and domestic petrol prices from the end of May were reasons for the low inflation in the first half of the year, said Nguyen Van Truyen, Deputy Director of the Price Management Department of the Ministry of Finance.
Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue said there was room to consider raising prices, given forecasts of low inflation in the second half of this year.
“Given low inflation, it would be convenient to adjust the prices of some public services,” Mr Hue said.
“However, ministries must consider their timing to avoid raising prices at the same time and putting pressure on inflation.”
According to a macro report by HSBC, Vietnam could see inflation as low as 2.7 per cent this year.
High inflation risks still remain, but these will certainly not pose a threat to the inflation rate of four per cent set by the State Bank of Vietnam, the report said.
Hanoi, 4 July 2019
