VietNamNet Bridge - The revenue of the state budget is not big enough to cover expenses, but Vietnam cannot continue borrowing big money.

VietNamNet Bridge - The government plans to transfer its burden of acting as a guarantor for loans to commercial banks in an effort to better control public debt.

 VietNamNet Bridge – A brighter outlook is forecast for the Vietnamese economy this year and the following years amid difficulties and challenges, according to economic expert Nguyen Quynh Nga.

VietNamNet Bridge - Investors have repeatedly voiced their concern about Vietnam’s public debt which has been increasing rapidly, and about the national default risk, according to Le Xuan Nghia, head of the Business Development Institute (BDI).

VietNamNet Bridge - Spending too much while income is limited, according to experts, is the main reason behind the current worrying situation of public debt.

MOF has reassured the public that the international bond issuance for debt swap will not lead to an increase in the government’s debts, while the public debt indexes will be maintained within the safety line.

 After five years of implementation the Law on Public Debt Management is to be amended to conform to international practice. Particularly noteworthy are the extent of public debt management and the responsibility of stakeholders in spending.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam’s public debt is still within the safety line, but there are latent high risks.

VietNamNet Bridge - The credit default swap (CDS), the index that measures the risk of holding government bonds, increased in the last two months of the third quarter of 2015, showing foreign investors’ concern about Vietnam’s public debt.

A finance ministry official has refuted the figure of public debt in 2014 as given by the Policy and Development Institute under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, saying that the method of calculation is not in line with regulations.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), after a recalculation, has announced that Vietnam’s public debt in 2014 was equal to 66.4 percent of GDP, or 6.5 percent higher than the 59.9 percent rate made public before. 

 VietNamNet Bridge – The nation's public debt was estimated at 62.3 per cent of the GDP by the year end, well within the Government's limit of 65 per cent.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese income per capita is much lower than other regional countries, and the ratio of public debt on GDP is high and on the rise.

VietNamNet Bridge - Contrary to all predictions, economists have reassured the public that the weaker dong will not worsen the public debt burden of the state.

VietNamNet Bridge - Though they believe that Vietnam’s public debt is not as dangerous as some international institutions say, government officials are applying measures to control the debt.

VietNamnet Bridge - Concerns about public debt arose again after the Ministry of Finance (MOF) asked for VND30 trillion from the State Bank.

VietNamNet Bridge - The Ministry of Finance (MOF) said that Vietnam’s public debt was still within the safety line but economists say they can see high risks.

Deputy governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong said at the Government’s media briefing in Hanoi last week that the central bank is weighing the Ministry of Finance’s proposal for a VND30 trillion loan

The good news about the GDP growth rate of 6.28 percent in the first six months of the year, the highest in five years, has been overshadowed by a report from the World Bank (WB) that every Vietnamese citizen bears $1,200 in public debt.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc confirmed the Government has been cautious in public debts management via stabilising the macro economy and improving the investment environment as he took the floor at the Q&A session.