Viet Nam efficiently implemented its payment obligations each year, contributing to improving the national credit rating, according to the ministry. — Photo vnmedia

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — 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.

This statistic was revealed at a workshop held on Monday by the Ministry of Finance's Department of Debt Management and External Finance and the World Bank to review the Law on Public Debt Management after five years of implementation.

According to Truong Hung Long, Director of the Department of Debt Management and External Finance, the law created a legal framework for raising the resources for investments in socio-economic development projects, improving transparency in borrowing and paying debt and ensuring the money is channelled to the right places.

The capital contributed largely to maintaining the country's economic growth as well as reducing social welfare and poverty, the ministry said.

The ministry's statistics showed that during 2012-15, the public debt accounted for 44 per cent of the country's total investments in socio-economic development, with an average annual growth rate of 18.6 per cent.

More than 76.4 per cent of the public debt was attributed to Government borrowings, 20.3 per cent was for Government-guaranteed loans and the rest was for local governments' borrowings.

Viet Nam efficiently implemented its payment obligations each year, contributing to improving the national credit rating, according to the ministry.

Last year, the Government spent 13.8 per cent of the budget for repaying debts.

The country's public debt was VND2.347 quadrillion (US$104.3 billion) by the end of last year, or 59.6 per cent of the GDP. The ratio was estimated at 62.3 per cent by the end of this year.

According to Long, the law also helped promote the development of the domestic bond market, from 2.8 per cent of the GDP in 2001 to 19 per cent in 2011 and 21.2 per cent last year.

However, Long said the legal framework needed further improvements to enhance the management of public debt for greater efficiency and to ensure compliance with international practices.

The World Bank's Country Director for Viet Nam Victoria Kwakwa was quoted by a local newspaper as saying at the workshop that the World Bank was willing to provide technical support to Viet Nam to enhance the efficiency of its public debt management to ensure debt safety and national financial security. — VNS