Japan signed loan agreements with Vietnam totalling JPY102.2 billion (approximately US$678 million), marking the highest amount since 2017, during the Japanese financial year from April last year to March this year.

Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam, Mr. Ito Naoki, recently met with the press to discuss the prospects for cooperation between Japan and Vietnam and the focus of promoting bilateral relations in the new term.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang on March 27 stressed the Vietnamese Government’s determination to speed up the disbursement of official development assistance (ODA) and concessional loans.

Vietnam and Japan on May 21 signed three agreements worth 61 billion yen (US$442 million) to finance official development assistance (ODA) projects in Vietnam.

After 30 years Japan has become Vietnam’s biggest ODA donor, with more than JPY2.7 trillion, approximately US$20 billion, in loans, nearly JPY100 billion in grant aid, and roughly JPY180 billion in support for technical cooperation.

Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc pointed out problems in the Law on Public Investment at the ongoing National Assembly session.

Some ministries, agencies and localities have given back public investment capital as they had not used up the capital.

Unable to disburse ODA as planned, many ministries and local authorities have begun to return the loans to the Government, adding burden to fiscal planning.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency Vietnam has disbursed some 10.8 billion JPY ($75 million) worth of ODA in Vietnam between April 2021 and March 2022, according to Chief Representative Shimizu Akira.

Disbursement of foreign official development assistance (ODA) and concessional loans has been slow, achieving only 15.48% of the target, the Ministry of Finance reported.

Ho Chi Minh City has called on US enterprises to invest in 10 major projects of the city, especially those in infrastructure construction.

Six international financial institutions have committed to financing US$2.2 billion in ODA and preferential loans for 20 sustainable development projects in the Mekong Delta in adaption to climate change during 2021-2025.

JICA has signed a loan agreement with the Vietnamese Government to provide a Japanese ODA loan worth over 18,870 million yen for the Disaster and Climate Change Countermeasure project using the earth observation satellite.

The Ministry of Finance recently reported to the Prime Minister on the disbursement of ODA and concessional foreign loans in 2021.

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) has submitted a statement to the Prime Minister about the public debt management program for 2022-2024, and the plan to borrow and pay public debts in 2022.

Numerous projects and investors will be cut off from public investment allocation due to the poor performance of disbursement this year, and this will affect socioeconomic development of localities involved.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested Japan provide Vietnam with new-generation official development assistance with maximum incentives and the simplest procedures.

The Government’s report says that if the GDP in 2021 is below expectations, this will affect state budget overexpenditures as well as the national public debt and foreign debt safety indexes.

The HCM City People's Committee has asked the Ministry of Planning and Investment and Ministry of Finance to disburse Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) capital from the central budget this year