Vietnam needs WB’s advice on State budget balance: Deputy PM

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam wants suggestions from its partners, including the World Bank (WB), about how to tackle difficulties in balancing the State budget as well dealing with public and bad debts, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue told the WB Vice President for the East Asia and Pacific Region Victoria Kwakwa.

During their meeting in Hanoi on June 2, the official said Vietnam must restructure State budget collection and revise tax policies, especially those regarding property, as tax will be sharply cut after free trade agreements (FTAs) take effect.

He said Vietnam hopes to consult the WB about tax management and technical issues.

Since the State budget has sometimes been spent wastefully, Vietnam needs the bank’s assistance in orienting public spending and improving the efficiency of expenditure in to better control budget overspending and pay debts, he noted.

Vietnam is seeking solutions to bad debts, the Deputy PM said, appealing to the bank to help Vietnam develop the corporate bond market and mobilise more social resources.

Hue expressed his hope that the WB will carry forward its coordination role and aid Vietnam to cope with challenges posed by climate change and graduate from the international development assistance (IDA) in 2017 as scheduled.

The official also called for the bank’s support to help Vietnam maximise benefits afforded by FTAs, especially the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Lauding the WB’s valuable assistance over recent years, the host hoped that Victoria Kwakwa will make more contributions to the relationship between Vietnam and the bank.

Victoria Kwakwa underlined the need for Vietnam to manage polices towards market mechanism and ensure balance between growth and macro-economic stability targets.

The WB is ready to cooperate with Vietnamese agencies to address fiscal and monetary problems, she said.

She urged Vietnam to be more active in State budget collection, restructure public debts and map out a long-term debt management strategy to mobilise capital for development.

The WB needs to know more about the package Vietnam wants to borrow from development partners, including the bank, she said, warning the country about emerging risks such as rapid credit growth resulting in more bad debts in the region.-VNA