“Alongside assigning individual responsibilities, investors and those in charge must be delegated relative independence and management rights, within legal boundaries,” said Dr. Nguyen Quoc Viet, deputy director of the Institute of Economic and Policy Research (VEPR), in an interview with The Saigon Times Identifying key obstacles The Saigon Times: Public investment has been identified as one of the key growth drivers for Q4-2024 to meet the 7% GDP growth target. However, by the end of Q3-2024, public investment disbursement had only reached over 47% of the full-year target, which is lower than in the same period last year. What is causing this, and what pressure does this place on disbursement in the rest of the year? Dr. Nguyen Quoc Viet: The situation where public investment disbursement is slow at the start of year, speeds up mid-year, and then peaks at year-end has almost become a “routine” or “characteristic” of the Vietnamese economy, not just in public investment. However, while the private sector is gradually integrating and adhering to international standards and practices, changes in the public sector remain unclear. There is still a tendency for a slow start at the beginning of year due to festivals, delays in implementing plans, […]