LookAtVietnam – The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee yesterday discussed a plan to allocate capital from Government bonds for this year. This additional issuance of Government bonds will aim to supply more capital to invest in urgent projects

A lot of Viet kieu scientists and cultural activists who had returned home to work for universities and research institutes had shown interest in owning houses in the country.

Capital disbursement was slow and some projects were delayed, causing waste, while use of Government bonds was inefficient, so total investments had to be raised, he said.

Hien said this year, as the economy continues to slow down, crude oil prices would not stabilise, causing a negative impact on the State budget; therefore, the effective use of Government bonds this year would be significant to stopping the economic downturn and stabilising the macro-economy.

The commission said the plan to allocate Government bonds should be closed with the resolutions of the NA and NA Standing Committee, to focus on key projects.

In addition to the Government bonds worth VND36 trillion (US$2 billion) this year, the Government has also asked the NA to allow it to issue an additional VND11.5 trillion ($657 million).

However, after considering the global economic conditions, the committee on said that the Government could raise the new issuance of bonds to VND20 trillion ($1.1 billion) and submit the plan to the National Assembly meeting for approval in May.

This proposal has caused many different opinions.

Most members of the NA Standing Committee said the policy to issue Government bonds would be very necessary. But the chairman of NA’s Nationalities Council, Ksor Phuoc, has said that the issuance of more Government bonds worth VND11.5 or 20 trillion could cause an increase in inflation.

Sharing this point of view, Chairman of NA’s Economic Committee Ha Van Hien said that this year, the proposal to raise Government bond capital to more than VND54 trillion would be in line with reality. But capital disbursement speed should be heeded, he said. In 2007, capital disbursement speed gained only 23 per cent, and last year it was 62 per cent, he said.

NA Vice Chairman Nguyen Duc Kien said that recently, capital disbursement speeds were slow, especially in regards to healthcare and education.

The ratio of completed construction projects and those put into operation had been low, showing low efficiency of capital use, he said.

According to Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, last year, disbursement of Government bond capital for transport and irrigation had gained 87.2 per cent of the yearly plan. Disbursement of Government bond capital for healthcare and education projects had gained 73.4 per cent of the yearly plan. The remaining capital, more than VND7 trillion ($440 million), had been passed on to be used this year.

Houses and homes

The National Assembly Standing Committee yesterday discussed how to include more overseas Vietnamese (Viet kieu) into provisions that allow them to purchase houses in the country.

The Government suggested amending the Land Law’s Article 121 and the Housing Law’s Article 126, which stipulate two groups of Viet kieu to be eligible to own houses or apartments in Viet Nam.

The first group includes Vietnamese citizens living permanently in foreign countries who wish to invest in Viet Nam for a long term, who have made contributions to the country, cultural activists and scientists who wish to return to work for the country and those who are allowed to live permanently in their country of origin.

The second group includes those who are not subject to the first group but have resided in Viet Nam for at least six months.

To encourage more Viet kieu to own more than one house in Viet Nam, the Government has proposed to the NA Standing Committee that anyone of Vietnamese origin should be eligible.

They could be grouped into five categories: those who have invested for a long time in Viet Nam; those who have made contributions to the nation; cultural activists and scientists in demand in Viet Nam; people with special skills and those married to people at home.

People of Vietnamese origin who do not belong to the above groups would be eligible to buy only one house.

In all cases, they must first reside in Viet Nam for at least three months.

The owners may have the right to sell their house and lease, present, exchange or mortgage it to others.

Minister of Construction Le Hong Quan said that out of a total 3 million Viet kieu worldwide, 70 per cent had Vietnamese citizenship and the rest were considered to be of Vietnamese origin.

Provisions have been in place now for two years, yet only 140 Viet kieu own houses here, Quan said, attributing it to limitations of the Housing Law’s Article 126.

He said that a lot of Viet kieu scientists and cultural activists who had returned home to work for universities and research institutes had shown interest in owning houses in the country.

Due to the fact that they were unable to work in Viet Nam more regularly, they could not justify the expense of buying a home.

“The provision does not encourage scientists to work for the country,” Quan said.

In other cases, Viet kieu who invest in Viet Nam and travel back and forth to the country many times a year are not allowed to buy houses because they do not reside here permanently.

“This has caused great difficulties for some Viet kieu, and added to their travel costs,” Quan said.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News