The Vietnamese government plans to borrow a maximum of VND1,862.2 trillion ($75 billion) in the 2024-2026 period, according to a decision signed by Deputy PM Le Minh Khai last week.
The figure is equivalent to 17.4% of Vietnam’s $430 billion GDP recorded in 2023.
The borrowings will include VND1,818.3 trillion ($73.22 billion) for the central budget and VND43.9 trillion for relending.
The government will make maximum loan repayments of VND1,102.8 trillion ($44.41 billion), including VND976.4 trillion for direct debts and VND126.4 trillion for re-lending activities.
In the three-year period, the government will provide guarantees for bonds issued by the Vietnam Development Bank (VDB) worth a maximum of VND8,620 billion ($347.1 million) and the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) VND11,590 billion. VDB and VBSP are two policy banks in the country.
Debt borrowing and repayment in 2024
This year, the government plans to borrow VND676.06 trillion ($27.22 billion): VND659.9 trillion for the central budget and VND16.1 trillion for relending.
The borrowings will take the form of bonds, official development assistance (ODA) and preferential loans, and other sources if necessary.
It will strive to make repayments of VND454 trillion ($18.28 billion) this year: VND395.9 trillion towards direct debt and VND56.1 trillion for re-lending activities.
The decision stipulates that medium-term and long-term foreign loans of businesses and credit institutions without government guarantees in 2024, which borrowers apply for and repay themselves, must not exceed $6,599 million. The outstanding foreign loans can rise by no more than 20% from the figure at the end of 2023.
According to the latest public debt bulletin released by the Ministry of Finance last month, Vietnam’s public debt totaled VND3,360 trillion ($135 billion) as of June 2023, up VND110 trillion against end-2022. Of the amount, foreign borrowings accounted for 29.2%.