Vietnam ’s debt indexes are at safe levels, with public debt managedtightly, domestic and external debts paid and having no bad debt, saidthe Finance Ministry.

At an international seminar on managementof public debt and external national debt held in Hanoi on Oct. 17,the Finance Ministry reported that by Dec. 31, 2010, Vietnam ’spublic debt was 57.3 percent of GDP, government debt, 45.7 percent andexternal national debt, 42.2 percent.

The ministry affirmed thatVietnam ’s debt is for development investment, not for regularexpenses and administrative costs. Most loans are longterm withpreferential interest rates and public debt has not caused pressure onthe State budget.

According to Nguyen Thanh Do, Director of theDepartment for Debt Management and External Finance of the FinanceMinistry, Vietnam plans to manage debts by effectively controllingthe macro-economy, increasing State budget collection, exports andreserves of foreign currency, while continuing to accelerate theexamination of the use of loans and risk management.

At theseminar, which was jointly held by the Finance Ministry, the World Bank(WB) and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Vietnameseexperts benefitted from the experience in debt management ofinternational financial organisations and foreign debt managementagencies.

At the event, foreign experts also analysed thesituation of Vietnam ’s public debt and debt management and suggestedmeasures for sustainable debt management./.