Accordingly, information needed to calculate the national credit rating will be handed over, based on recommendations from ratings organisations in accordance with Viet Nam's legal regulations and ability to meet the requirements.—Photo vietstock

HA NOI (Biz Hub)— National agencies will provide more information to international credit rating bodies to ensure accurate representations of Viet Nam's economic wellbeing, after Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung signed off on a new decision 61/2013/QD-TTg.

Currently, no ministry or organisation in Viet Nam is authorised to provide economic data to ratings bodies, meaning the information they collect is often inadequate and sometimes inaccurate.

Accordingly, information needed to calculate the national credit rating will be handed over, based on recommendations from ratings organisations in accordance with Viet Nam's legal regulations and ability to meet the requirements.

The mentioned information includes general socio-economic information, fiscal data, monetary and banking data, external economic information, plus political and other socio-economic information.

The decision states that socio-economic general information includes mid-term and long-term strategies, as well as annual solutions for socio-economic development.

Data on economic growth, national income, income per capita, savings ratio, investment ratio, inflation, population, jobs and unemployment will also be provided.

Ratings agencies will also be able to access fiscal information such as policy and mid-term financial budget plans; State collection, spending and budget balance data; SOE reforms; Government debts; provisionary Government debt liabilities; public debt and external national debt.

Monetary and banking information on exchange rates, interest, compulsory reserves and open market operation (OMO); performance of the State Bank of Viet Nam, credit institutions and restructuring of the banking system; balance of payments, foreign currency reserves, credit, non-performing loans (NPLs) and strategies to reduce them will also be available.

External economic information covers import-export figures, trade balance and overseas remittances. Political information includes Government policies and directions; Government personnel; Viet Nam's relationships with other govern-ment's international financial institutions; administration reform and procedures control.

Under the decision, the PM also calls for stronger co-operation between relevant ministries and agencies to better implement the task.

Relevant agencies will have to report the aforementioned information periodically to the Ministry of Finance, which will be in charge of working with global ratings agencies to sign agreements on providing relevant data and ensuring agencies publicise the country's credit ratings, while making recommendations on the issues at hand.

The finance ministry will also co-operate with Government Offices; the ministries of Planning and Investment, Foreign Affairs and Industry and Trade; the National Committee on Financial Supervision and the State Bank of Viet Nam, to meet and provide socio-economic information for international investors, financial and export credit organisations, plus ratings agencies to ease the country's capital mobilisation in the global market and raise the national credit rating.

In addition, the Ministry of Finance is expected to launch a State-run credit rating agency (CRA) next year in a move to create a government-run institution able to reliably rate the country's stocks and companies.

The purpose of the CRA will be to judge how likely it is that a company is able to meet its financial obligations. It is projected to be backed by VND15 billion (US$714,000) in capital and will rate both private and State-owned corporations, as well as financial, banking, insurance and non-financial institutions. — VNS