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Vietnam’s average disbursement rate is much lower than that of other recipients of the Asian Development Bank’s ODA loans, largely due to cumbersome and time-consuming procedures, said Eric Sidgwick, ADB country director for Vietnam. Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung speaks at a teleconference in Hanoi on June 26. Red tape is one of the main reasons for slow loan disbursement – PHOTO: THOI BAO TAI CHINH Speaking at a teleconference in Hanoi on Wednesday, Sidgwick said Vietnam had a good rate of disbursement in the past. However, the rate has been on the decline since 2014, and it is currently very slow, reported the local media. Vietnam’s average disbursement rate in 2018 reached 11.2%, or half of the rate in the 2011-2014 period, at 21.7%, and half the rates of other countries, according to the director. He pointed out that even minor changes in projects such as increases in scale, six-month loan extensions, cost structure changes or the use of … [Read more...] about Red tape results in low ODA disbursement in Vietnam: ADB

A workshop on technological solutions for the North-South high-speed railway took place in Hanoi. “We are still not ready enough. When will carriage factories be able to build the carriages for high-speed 200-300 kilometers per hour trains?” Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Vu Dai Thang asked recently. The $58.71 billion project has estimated investment rate of $38 million per kilometer. It will be implemented in two phases: the first one with estimated capital of $24.714 billion and the second $33.998 billion.  MPI Deputy Minister Thang commented that it is necessary to clarify development scenarios, while it is not possible to immediately develop a high-speed development plan. Thanh Lich North-south express railway: how much money is enough? Experts say the north-south expressway project worth tens of billions of dollars raises big questions in the context of ‘every locality has one airport’ race. North-south expressway: … [Read more...] about High-speed railway: Vietnam still needs to import technology

Acting on behalf of the government in disbursing capital for the nation’s important projects, the Vietnam Development Bank (VDB) has been found committing serious violations. VDB was established in 2006 as a not-for-profit bank which receives subsidy from the state for interest rate differences, and management and payment-guarantee fees. Under Decision No 1515 released in 2015, the government authorized the Ministry of Finance (MOF) to manage and exercise owner’s rights and duties. VDB has huge charter capital of VND30 trillion. A report fromMOF showed that the outstanding loans the bank provides is VND100 trillion each year. It also issues tens of trillions of dong worth of bonds. At a recent workshop, Nguyen Chi Trang, deputy general director of VDB, said VDB was holding and disbursing 60 percent of ODA capital. As of August 31, 2018, VDB’s foreign outstanding loans had reached VND152.9 trillion. The government’s inspectors have found that VDB did not … [Read more...] about State may have to pay debts of Vietnam Development Bank

Commenting about the reliance of Vietnam’s economy on FIEs (foreign invested enterprises), one economist noted that “when FIEs sneeze, the Vietnamese economy catches a cold". Vietnam is listed among the economies with the highest GDP growth rates in recent years. According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), the rate was 6.21 percent in 2016, 6.81 percent in 2017, 7.07 percent in 2018 and 6.71 percent in the first half of 2019. Because of the problem with Samsung, Vietnam’s GDP growth rate in Q1 2018 was low, just 5.1 percent in comparison with the 5.5 percent in the same period of 2016. The figure was far below the 6.7 percent GDP growth rate of the entire year of 2017. “The fact that Samsung recalled its products not only affected Vietnam’s exports, but also led to a GDP growth rate decrease. This shows that Vietnam’s economy depends too heavily on FIEs,” said Do Thien Anh Tuan, a respected economist. Linh Ha Vietnamese IPs … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s GDP too heavily dependent on foreign-invested enterprises: economists

Coastal provinces from Quang Ninh to Khanh Hoa have been warned to prepare for the Storm Kalmaegi. Central Vietnam prepares for Storm Kalmaegi The National Centre for Hydrometeorology Forecasting said Storm Kalmaegi was at latitude 18.8N, longitude 122.6E at 1 am on November 19. In the next 12 hours, it will move in the west-northwest direction at the speed of 5-10km per hour. In the following 12-24 hours, it will move in the southwest direction at 10-15km per hour. At 1 am on November 20, it will be off Luzon Island in the Philippines. Due to the cold spell, high waves and strong winds are forecasted for the northern area of the East Sea including the Paracel Islands. The National Committee for Incident, Disaster Response and SAR has asked the committees for natural disaster prevention and search and rescue at lower levels to prepare to deal with Storm Kalmaegi. They were asked to quickly inform ships about the storm and its location. They must keep in contact with the ships … [Read more...] about Central Vietnam prepares for Storm Kalmaegi