Deputy Minister Tran Xuan Ha announced the official figure at a conference on January 8 in order to review the performance of the financial sector in the previous year. Speaking at the meeting, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc reaffirmed that one of the successes of 2017 was the economic growth rate of 6.81 percent, increasing Vietnam’s gross domestic product to over US$220 billion. The government leader said such a GDP figure is important because it helped bring down the ratio of public debt, which, at 61.3 percent, is now safe. He recalled in early 2016 when public debt reached 64.5 percent, close to the limit of 65 percent, many were worried that it could threaten Vietnam’s fiscal stability. At the conference, the Prime Minister also stated that the rapid and frequent changes in Vietnam’s tax policies have caused considerable trouble for businesses and indicated that policy formulation failed to take into consideration the reality of economic life. He urged the finance ministry to develop tax policies that will be stable for at least five to ten years. The government leader also asked the Ministry of Finance to downsize its workforce with 72,000 employees currently on its payroll, and strengthen the management of public assets. Theo NDO
Before the Vietnamese National Assembly convenes, an international conference on “public debt and sovereign debt management" was held in Hanoi. As there were different ways to calculate public debt, assessments on the safety of public debt to the economy were dissimilar. Discrepancy leads to differenceVietnam has used a different method to calculate public debt to GDP ratio from international financial institutions for years. In 2009 Vietnam announced its public debt to GDP ratio at 41 percent but the World Bank (WB) affirmed the ratio of 47 percent. Vietnam persists with its calculating method. Most recently, Mr Nguyen Thanh Do, Director…... [read more]
Public debt needs to be tightly controlled Nearly hitting permissible limits According to the Ministry of Finance, as of December 31, 2013, Vietnam’s public debt reached 1,913 trillion, equal to 53.4 percent of GDP, and government debt balance hit VND1,488 trillion, equal to 41.5 percent of GDP, which were lower than the permissible limits (i.e. public debt below 65 percent of GDP and government debt below 55 percent of GDP). However, a government report at a session of the National Assembly Standing Committee in October 2014 predicted that public debt would reach 60.3 percent of GDP by the end of…... [read more]
Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has proposed the central government to put an end to government guarantee for new projects from 2017 in an effort to help lower the burden on the nation’s public debt, the Vietnamplus cited a ministry report as saying July 5.The World Bank forecasts that Vietnam’s public debt will climb from 62.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015 to 63.8 percent in 2016, 64.4 percent in 2017 and 64.7 percent in 2018.Vietnam’s National Assembly has set a ceiling for the country’s public debt at 65 percent of GDP.The government-guaranteed loans as of end-2015 stood at…... [read more]
Vietnam has used 98 percent of public debts to finance development investment projectsPublic debt was 50 percent of Vietnam’s GDP in 2011, and this increased to 50.8 percent in 2012, and 54.2 percent in 2013. This figure is expected to reach 60.3 percent for 2014, and 64 percent next year. National Financial Monitoring Committee Vice Chairman Truong Van Phuoc said that a warning about public debt could be issued, but he added that the situation was not too serious, and that Vietnam would not go insolvent. “In fact, domestic debt accounts for 40-50 percent of Vietnam’s public debt. Low interest…... [read more]
The statement was made at a plenary session of the 13th NationalAssembly’s ongoing eighth session on October 30, during which Dung gavean overview of the current status of public debt and debt safety.According to the Minister, prior to 2010, Governmentdebt and international debt did not exceed 50 percent of the country’sGDP. Dung said the debt-GDP ratio was 35 percent in 2001, 35.2 percent in 2006, and 41.9 percent in 2009. The enforcement of the Law on Public Debt Management since 2010represents a crucial legal basis for localities to become moretransparent and responsible in managing and using loans, he noted. Key…... [read more]
