A team from S&P Global Ratings, a credit rating agency, was delegated by Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Chi on May 21 to assess Vietnam's national credit rating for 2024.
Information regarding current events and developments pertaining to Vietnam's economic outlook was provided by Mr. Nguyen Duc Chi. Photo: Tue Anh
The meeting was attended by professionals as well as representatives from the Department of State Budget, Department of Banking and Finance, and Department of Debt Management and Foreign Finance. Representing on behalf of S&P Global Ratings are Mr. Andrew Woods, Director of the Asia Pacific area, and Mr. Kim Eng Tan, Senior Director.
Talking with S&P Global Ratings specialists, Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Chi discussed the government's plans and policies for 2024 as well as the positive aspects of Vietnam's socioeconomic situation in the previous year. Given how complex and unpredictable the world is becoming, the Vietnamese government has been directing economics, production, and business policies and solutions in an extreme and timely manner in order to overcome obstacles and foster progress. FDI attraction, export, and business are all changing favorably. GDP growth is projected to be 8.12% in 2022 and 5.05% in 2023. The GDP is expected to reach over 430 billion USD in 2023, bringing Vietnam to the top 40 globally. The GDP growth target for 2024 is expected to be between 6 and 6.5%, with an estimated 5.66% increase in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in the previous year.
S&P Global Ratings experts. Photo: Tue Anh
It is predicted that the total value of products imported and exported in 2023 will be 683 billion USD, with a record export surplus of 28 billion USD. Object Commodity exports are expected to increase by 6% by 2024, with an export trade balance of $15 billion USD. Total import and export turnover during the first four months of 2024 is expected to be $238.88 billion USD, a 15.2% increase over the same time the previous year. In2023, FDI attraction is expected to total roughly 36.6 billion USD. As of April 20, 2024, Vietnam had recorded about 9.27 billion USD in total foreign investment capital, a 4.5% rise from the same period the previous year. The manufacturing and processing sector's added value in the first quarter of the year was 6.3% nationwide, which accounted for 5.5 percentage points of the economy's overall growth rate.
Mr. Nguyen Duc Chi discussed the macroeconomic management of the government and stated that Vietnam has a great deal of expertise in adapting to changes in the local, regional, and global economies. In terms of public debt management and fiscal policy, the government follows an expansionary but cautious fiscal strategy, cutting unnecessary spending to free up funds for bureaucracy to invest in the public sector and raise funding for important infrastructure projects.
Meeting overview. Photo: Tue Anh
Strict control of debt safety indicators greatly enhances the structure of the portfolio. Both government and public debt. By 2023, public debt is expected to account for 37% of GDP, corporate debt for roughly 34% of GDP, and foreign debt for roughly 33.5% of GDP. State budget income for the entire year 2023 is expected to reach 1,754.1 trillion VND, an increase of 8.2%, according to Deputy Minister Nguyen Duc Chi. An estimated 2,109.9 trillion VND is the funding of the state in 2023. The state budget deficit in 2023 is estimated to reach about 355.8 trillion VND. Approximately 47–48% of the projected revenue for the state budget in 2024 has been collected thus far. Notably, there have been indications of revival in both output and business activities.
Experts from S&P Global Ratings express gratitude to the Ministry of Finance for its helpful information and commitment to enhancing credit rating evaluation and country accountability.
Translator: Thúy Nga