US$2.8 billion in official development assistance (ODA) and concessional loans was disbursed last year, with US$705 million of it going to the electricity industry, the biggest sum for a single sector.
US$2.8 billion in official development assistance (ODA) and concessional loans was disbursed last year, with US$705 million of it going to the electricity industry, the biggest sum for a single sector.
The transport sector got US$490 million of the total and the agriculture and health sectors received US$368 million and US$287 million respectively, according to the Agency for Debt Management and External Finance under the Finance Ministry.
Provinces took US$1.2 billion, accounting for one fourth of the total ODA and concessional loans. Of the figure, HCMC received US$574 million and Dong Nai Province US$164 million for infrastructure projects.
The US$2.8 billion amount covered ODA and concessional loans signed in 2015. If other financial aid sources pledged in previous years and disbursed in 2015 were included, the figure would be US$5.2 billion.
Ending 2015, Vietnam’s public debt was put at 61.3% of gross domestic product (GDP). Government debt represented 48.9% of GDP and foreign debt 41.5%, which were still at safe levels.
Regarding public debt, Government debt now makes up 80.3%, Government-guaranteed debt 18.2% and municipal debt 1.5%. Some 94% of the Government’s foreign debt was ODA and preferential loans.
Since 2010, ODA and preferential loans have carried higher interest rates and shorter tenors as Vietnam became a middle-income country.
By end-2015, the ministry had managed to pay debt with payments making up 13-14% of total annual budget collections.
(Source:SGT)
