The Ministry of Finance will strengthen price controls as the basic wage increases from July 1st.
On July 5th, the Ministry of Finance stated that it would closely monitor market supply and demand and price movements of essential goods to adjust prices accordingly, as the basic wage increased from 1.8 million VND to 2.34 million VND per month.
According to the Ministry, ministries, sectors, and localities should proactively prepare plans for price management of goods with state-regulated prices, carefully evaluate the impact, and make adjustments within their authority or propose to competent authorities for appropriate decisions based on market movements and price levels.
Additionally, they should closely monitor domestic supply and demand situations to provide timely guidance and ensure a balance in the domestic market, preventing shortages, hoarding, speculation, and unreasonable price increases.
For goods and public services with market-oriented pricing, such as electricity, healthcare, and education, the Ministry of Finance will closely monitor the plans and roadmaps developed by relevant ministries and propose decisions to competent authorities.
Addressing concerns about potential price hikes following the wage increase, the Ministry of Finance emphasized that they will enhance the implementation and supervision of price declaration, price listing, and price information disclosure. They will also conduct inspections to ensure compliance with pricing laws, promptly detect and rectify any limitations or irregularities, and strictly handle violations.
Previously, PGS-TS Nguyen Ba Minh, a senior lecturer at the Academy of Finance, predicted that inflationary pressures in 2024 could arise from the government’s adjustment of the basic wage and the increase in prices of healthcare, education, and electricity following their respective roadmaps. However, he added that if these adjustments are made in the second half of 2024 and the increases are not too high, the National Assembly’s inflation control target of around 4.5% remains achievable.
Meanwhile, TS Nguyen Duc Do, Deputy Director of the Institute of Economics and Finance (Academy of Finance), opined that although the basic wage has increased from July 1, 2024, the impact on inflation may not be significant as the wage adjustment primarily affects the public sector, which does not have a large scale in the economy.
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