Vietnam in talks to borrow $1 billion as budget deficit seen widening

Khanh Vu Friday | 04/10/2020 23:48

Vietnam in talks to borrow $1 billion as budget deficit seen widening. Photo: VTV

Vietnam plans to borrow $1 billion from foreign lenders this year, the Ministry of Finance said Friday, adding the country’s budget deficit is seen widening this year due to the coronavirus outbreak.

“The Finance Ministry is negotiating with potential lenders (IMF, WB and ADB),” the ministry said in a statement posted on its website, referring to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. It did not give further details.

It said Vietnam’s budget deficit is expected to widen by 1.5-1.6 percentage point to 5%-5.1% of gross domestic product due to the impact of the coronavirus.

The country will lose 140-150 trillion dong ($5.94-$6.37 billion) in state budget revenue this year, if the virus pandemic is contained within the second quarter, it added.

► Vietnam’s 2020 economic growth could slow to 5.05% on pandemic

► Fitch projects Vietnam’s 2020 economic growth to slow to 3.3%

Source: Reuters