Vietnam Has No Reasons to Devalue Dong: Deputy Governor
Vietnam has no reasons to devalue the dong sharply as some local analysts suggested because the economy remains stable, the Banking Times said Thursday, citing Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, Nguyen Van Binh.
In the first quarter, Vietnam reported a trade surplus of $2.32 billion, compared with a gap of $6.95 billion last year while it had a current account surplus of $2.6 billion, compared with a deficit of $6.1 billion, Deputy Governor Binh pointed out.
The country also has forex reserves of $20 billion, sufficient to offset its payment balance, Binh noted.
“Vietnam will not depreciate the dong more than 5%-6%, compared with inflation expected by analysts at 5%-6% for this year, he forecast, refusing a strong devaluation of the Vietnam dong.
Vietnam has devalued its currency twice since December 25 to help boost exports, the deputy governor said, attributing reasons of fever on the domestic grey market: psychological factor and hoarding greenbacks by firms.
The SBV urged for coordination among banks in lowering dollar-denominated deposit interest rates to 1% and 2% from current 2%-3% and cutting interest rates of dollar-denominated loans to 1.5%-3.5%, he said.
The central bank will also join hands with police, industry and trade ministries and provincial and municipal authorities to put forex activities under control, he added. (Banking Times)
Vietnamese
