Hanoi - The governor of Vietnam's Central Bank acknowledged Tuesday that the country's foreign debt had risen dramatically this year. Addressing the country's National Assembly, Central Bank Governor Nguyen Van Giau did not specify the country's total foreign debt but said it had risen dramatically compared with recent years.
Earlier this month, the National Assembly's Committee for Budget and Finance put the total government debt at 44.6 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Vietnam's GDP was about 89 billion dollars in 2008.
The International Monetary Fund puts Vietnam's foreign debt at one-third of the country's GDP.
Giau said the Central Bank would not further devalue the Vietnamese dong, despite suggestions from deputies that this would be a good way to close the gap between the official and black-market exchange rates.
"If Vietnam devalued the dong, it would exacerbate the foreign debt," Giau said.
Since last year, Vietnam has devalued the dong over 5 per cent against the dollar.
Senior Vietnamese economist Le Dang Doanh said devaluing the dong would harm some companies, but help others.
Doanh pointed out that devaluing the dong would raise Vietnam's revenues in domestic currency from exports of crude oil, coal and other natural resources.
