Medium-term debt management program passed

Under the program, by 2015, public debt would account for less than 65% of GDP, of which Government loans and foreign debts would be below 50% of GDP.

Overspending State budget would be reduced to below 4.5% of GDP by 2015 from the rates of 4.8% in 2013 and 4.7% in 2014.

Meanwhile, State foreign reserves would make up over 200% of short-term State loans.

To fulfill the goals, supplementary capital is proposed to mobilise to balance the State budget and socio-economic development investment, with long-term loans at low fees and reasonable risks being favored.

The program continues to impose a ceiling rate for mobilizing capital at local levels in line with the current regulations.

It prohibits spending short-term loans for medium and long-term projects and controls the granting and management of Government guarantee mechanisms, especially those applied on urgent and important projects.

Statistics show that as of April 15, Viet Nam’s public debt was at a safety rate that was equal to 49.2% of the country’s GDP. With the total public debt of US$72.523 billion and the population of 89,740,893 people, every Vietnamese shares the burden of US$808.1.

Earlier, the Government on July 16, 2010 issued a decree on public debt management which stipulates four instruments including the long-term strategy of public debts, medium-term program on debt management, the Government’s annual plans on loans and debt payment, criteria for safety and supervision of public debts.

Accordingly, medium-term program on debt management will comprise goals, tasks and measures on mobilizing, using, and paying public debts in a three-year period for the purpose of safety./

By Kim Loan