Fitch Ratings has upgraded Viet Nam’s sovereign rating based on the country’s rising foreign exchange reserves and strong economic growth.

Bloomberg cited Fitch’s announcement on May 15 that shows that the rating on the nation’s long-term, foreign currency-denominated debt was raised one level to BB, with a stable outlook. The upgrade puts Viet Nam at the second-highest speculative grade on a par with Costa Rica.

The rating agency also predicted that Viet Nam’s foreign reserves will increase to some US$66 billion by the end of this year from $49 billion in 2017, while the general government debt is likely to decline to below 50 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2019.

According to Fitch, the country’s economy can expand 6.7 per cent this year.

Most economic forecasts since early April said Viet Nam’s GDP growth would be 6.5 per cent or higher in 2018.

In an annual credit analysis released on April 3, Moody’s Investors Service said Viet Nam’s real GDP growth would remain robust, averaging 6.7 per cent.

Meanwhile, World Bank on April 12 predicted Viet Nam’s economic growth to stabilise at some 6.5 per cent in 2018.

The International Monetary Fund projected Viet Nam’s economy to grow by 6.6 per cent this year and 6.5 per cent in 2019 in its report “World Economic Outlook, April 2018”.

Viet Nam’s economy enjoyed a strong economic expansion of 7.38 per cent in the first quarter of this year, the best first-quarter performance in the last decade, according to the General Statistics Office. — VNS