Vietnam’s public debt exceeds ceiling, prime minister says

Public debt grew more than 18 percent a year on average during 2011-2015, much faster than the country's economic expansion.

Vietnam's public debt has already exceeded the ceiling set by the legislative National Assembly, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told a conference in Hanoi on Friday.

According to media reports, the finance ministry estimated public debt at 64.73 percent of the country's gross domestic product at the end of last year. That remained under the ceiling of 65 percent of GDP set by legislators.

But on Friday, the prime minister said the real ratio has already surpassed that limit.

“If it is fully calculated, it has already exceeded the ceiling,” Phuc was quoted by local media as saying, without providing a different figure.

Vietnam’s public debt grew more than 18 percent per year on average during 2011-2015, about three times higher than the average economic growth.

“I have heard warnings from experts who said the national fiscal system may collapse if this trend [rising public debt] is not stopped,” Phuc said.

By VnExpress