Vietnam’s 2021 state budget deficit seen below 4% of GDP

State budget revenues were estimated at VND1,563 trillion, or 16% higher than planned, with state spending seen at VND1,879 trillion, an 11% increase from the government’s plan, according to the government report.

Budget spending was VND1,879 trillion, 11.4% higher than its target, including VND74 trillion spent on its fight against the coronavirus pandemic

Earlier, Vietnamese lawmakers approved 2021 state budget estimate with a fiscal deficit of VND343.67 trillion ($14.82 billion), equivalent to 4% of GDP, down from an estimated deficit of 4.99. – 5.59% in 2020. 

Fitch Solutions, a subsidiary of Fitch Group, forecast Vietnam’s budget deficit (excluding debt payment) in 2021 at 3.6% of GDP, which is lower than the government’s estimation of 4% released in October 2020.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh warned the nation’s economy could face pandemic-related risks ranging from a widening state budget deficit to rising bank bad debts this year.