The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has announced that Vietnam’s public debts account for nearly 55% of GDP, which remain at an acceptable level.
Vietnam’s public debts remain at an acceptable level
The country targets to curb public debts at 65% of GDP and government debt at 55% of GDP for the 2011-2020 period.
By the end of 2011, public debts represented 54.9% of GDP, while government debts accounted for 43.2% of GDP.
Public debts are forecast to reach 55.4% of GDP and government debts 43.1% of GDP by the end of this year, the ministry said.
In order to safely and sustainably manage its public debts, the MoF has co-ordinated with the Ministry of Planning and Investment to propose the government issue an instruction on intensifying state investment and government bonds funded projects.
They have also recommended that the government issue a decision on attracting, management and using ODA and foreign soft loans more efficiently.
As part of efforts to lower interest rates for government debts and state-owned enterprises, the MoF has set up a working group for national credit rating and has signed co-operation agreements with UK firms on credit rating consultancy and assistance.
The ministry has also submitted a project to the prime minister to enhance the country’s national credit rating and issue a decree to guide the setting up and operation of credit rating agencies.
The ministry will submit a draft decision on rules to establish the national credit rating system in the final quarter of this year.
In the first half of this year, the MoF’s inspection agency conducted inspections of 17 cement projects using capital guaranteed by the government and the results have been sent to the prime minister.
The ministry received approval from the prime minister for a plan to restructure some debts from international bond.
According to the MoF, Vietnam will not consider guaranteeing the issuance of international bonds for the 2012-2014 period. As a result, any enterprise or bank should be proactive in issuing such bonds without relying on government guarantee.
Debts related to infrastructure investment projects nationwide have reached around VND93 trillion (USD4.4 billion) so far.
The ministry has requested localities across the country to report on such debts to submit to the prime minister.
