Hanoi to set up 5 task forces to accelerate disbursement of public funds

Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Vuong Dinh Hue has requested local authorities to set up five task forces specialized in accelerating the disbursement progress of public funds.

Secretary of Hanoi Party Committee Vuong Dinh Hue.

The measure was mentioned in an announcement of the municipal Party Committee on September 15, detailing the conclusions of Mr. Hue in a previous meeting with Hanoi’s Taxation Department.

As per the announcement, the Hanoi Party chief requested the Department of Taxation and Department of Planning and Investment to realize the city’s targets in tax collection and budget expenditure in 2020, noting this is key to ensure the capital city’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth this year at 1.3 times as high as the national average.

Hanoi gives utmost priority to containing the Covid-19 pandemic while continuing strong efforts in improving the business environment and addressing businesses’ concerns.

Mr. Hue asked the authorities to review the progress of projects having acquired investment licenses at the “Hanoi 2020 – Investment and Development Cooperation” held late June, in which both domestic and foreign investors committed investment capital worth a combined US$17.6 billion in 229 projects.

Meanwhile, the Taxation Department is tasked with putting in place measures to prevent tax losses and improve efficiency in tax collection.

For the rest of the year, Hanoi would focus on accelerating the progress of existing projects and improving state management in the allocation of state funds, including the transferring of state capital in projects with slow disbursement progress to those with faster disbursement pace.

This year, Hanoi targets to disburse 100% of the target amount of VND40.67 trillion (US$1.75 billion), and fulfil the state budget revenue target of VND260.4 trillion (US$11.23 billion) to aid the city’s economic development.

In the January – August period, the city’s state budget revenue stood at VND147.04 trillion (US$6.34 billion), equivalent to 56.5% of the estimate and down 10.6% year-on-year.

Hanoi's GRDP is estimated at 3.49% in the first eight months of this year, 1.92 times the national average. The city targets its growth to range from 4.5% to 5% for 2020.