HANOI, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's state budget collection reached nearly 246.5 trillion Vietnamese dong (10.7 billion U.S. dollars) in the first two months of this year, up 18.2 percent on-year, according to the country's Ministry of Finance on Thursday.
Domestic revenue, estimated at 204.8 trillion Vietnamese dong (8.9 billion U.S. dollars), rose by 19 percent from the same period last year and accounted for 83 percent of the total collection.
Import-export activities contributed 51.5 trillion Vietnamese dong (2.2 billion U.S. dollars) to the state budget, up 16.8 percent on-year.
Between January and February, Vietnam's budget spending stood at 195.4 trillion Vietnamese dong (roughly 8.5 billion U.S. dollars), up 9.6 percent on-year. As a result, budget surplus was around 51.1 trillion Vietnamese dong (2.2 billion U.S. dollars), said the ministry.
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 3.7 percent last year, according to the country's top legislature.
