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On the morning of April 21, under the chairmanship of Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Hong, the National Assembly discussed in the hall the assessment of supplementary results of implementing the socio-economic development plan and the state budget for 2025; the implementation status of the plan in the early months of 2026; the five-year socio-economic development plan for 2026–2030; and related contents.
Many delegates focused on the efficiency of capital use, the pace of disbursement of public investment, and the feasibility of ambitious growth targets in the coming period.
Delegate Phan Duy Anh (Da Nang City) said the Government’s report sets ambitious targets for 2026–2030, including average GDP growth of 10% per year or more; an ICOR reduction from 6.43 in 2021–2025 to 4.5–4.8; asset accumulation reaching 35–36% of GDP; and total social investment around 40% of GDP.
In the delegate’s view, while the targets reflect strong political will, feasibility remains a concern given persistent limitations in investment efficiency. He noted that ICOR was 6.77 in 2016–2020 and 6.43 in 2021–2025, implying only a 0.34 point reduction over five years. However, the 2026–2030 target would require ICOR to fall by a further 1.6–1.9 points over five years—an improvement not achieved for decades.
Delegate Phan Duy Anh argued that without breakthrough measures to address fundamental problems such as dispersed capital allocation, low project preparation quality, slow land clearance, and limited supply capacity for construction materials, achieving the targets would be difficult. He urged the Government to clarify a specific timetable showing how each factor contributes to the ICOR reduction, including a breakdown of contributions from labor productivity, application of science and technology, and restructuring public investment toward priorities rather than dispersion.
On budgeting and budget execution, Delegate Phan Duy Anh said that 2025 state budget revenue reached 2,681 trillion dong, exceeding the estimate by 36.3%. He described this as a major effort across the system, but said the result also reflects that forecasting and budgeting have not fully matched reality for many years.
The delegate emphasized that budget estimates are not only a technical matter but also a key basis for the National Assembly to determine fiscal policy, allocate resources, and control overspending and public debt. He said inaccurate forecasts could reduce the proactiveness of budget management.
On public investment disbursement, he noted that the disbursement rate reached 98% of the plan set by the Prime Minister. However, he said deeper analysis is needed on the quality of disbursement: local budget funds reached 117.8% of the plan, while central budget funds reached only 76.1%; disbursement of funds from the private sector reached 44.5%.
He said this pattern is continuing into 2026. In the first quarter, only 10.4% of the plan had been disbursed, while 48.3 trillion dong remained undisbursed across 15 ministries and 24 localities.
Based on this, Delegate Phan Duy Anh proposed that the Government clarify specific causes of low disbursement at each ministry and locality and study sanctions for returning budget plans due to subjective reasons.
Addressing the management and use of public investment funds, Delegate Nguyen Nhu So (Bac Ninh Province) said the urgent requirement is to restructure the funding mechanism so capital flows to the right addresses, to needs, and directly serves growth drivers.
He said the financial system faces a paradox: the credit-to-GDP ratio has reached 146%, yet the economy still lacks medium- and long-term capital. In his assessment, the core reason is misalignment caused by overreliance on short-term bank credit to finance long-term demands.
Delegate Nguyen Nhu So said that “short-term funding for long-term use” strains liquidity and prevents capital from flowing into high value-added areas, contributing to Vietnam’s ICOR remaining in the 6–7 range for many years.
He argued that monetary policy should shift away from broad liquidity easing toward targeted capital formation. He also called for reducing dependence on bank credit by developing the capital market in a substantive way, especially the stock market and corporate bonds, and establishing real medium- and long-term funding channels.
In addition, he said there is a need to explore institutional support for innovation, overcome institutional delays, and strengthen the leadership role of public investment in mobilizing social capital.
Finance Minister Ngo Van Tuan said the Ministry will advise the Government to review and update growth scenarios to assign tasks to each ministry, sector, locality, and enterprise in line with new conditions. He said the Ministry will continue coordinating fiscal policy and monetary policy to ensure adequate capital for the economy while maintaining macroeconomic stability, and will improve tax policy to ensure fair and sufficient tax collection while facilitating businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises.
On public investment disbursement, the Ministry of Finance said it is actively carrying out tasks assigned by the Prime Minister. It noted that the Prime Minister will chair a nationwide conference on public investment disbursement in 2026, focusing on resolving stalled projects and promoting capital market development through institutional reform and market infrastructure.
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