HANOI, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam posted budget collection of 745.4 trillion Vietnamese dong (32.4 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of this year, up 13.2 percent on-year, the country's Ministry of Finance announced Friday.
Domestic revenue grew 13.6 percent from the same period last year, while revenue from import-export activities rose by 13.7 percent.
Between January and June, Vietnam's budget spending stood at 666.1 trillion Vietnamese dong (28.7 billion U.S. dollars), up 2.6 percent on-year. As a result, budget surplus was around 84.3 trillion Vietnamese dong (3.7 billion U.S. dollars).
This year, Vietnam aims to lower its budget deficit to 220 trillion Vietnamese dong (9.6 billion U.S. dollars) or 3.6 percent of projected gross domestic product from the 3.7-percent rate last year, according to the country's top legislature.
