Vietnam says not now mulling dong devaluation
TOKYO - Vietnamese Deputy
Prime Minister Nguyen Cong Tan said on
Thursday that Hanoi would take steps to
overcome the negative effects of Asia's economic
crisis, but was not currently considering a
currency devaluation.
``Although Vietnam is not in the eye of the
currency and financial typhoon, our country has
already been negatively affected by it,'' Tan said.
``In order to overcome the negative impact of the
crisis and maintain the impetus of economic
growth, the Vietnamese government is doing its
best to implement macro-economic policy and
structural adjustment...,'' he told a seminar in
Tokyo.
Asked about the prospects for a devaluation of
the dong, Tan said: ``Vietnam's domestic
markets are relatively stable and therefore we are
not considering any urgent steps towards the
currency at present.''
He said, however, that the Vietnamese currency
had come under ``strong downward pressure''
and that exports and incoming foreign investment
were declining.
Foreign bankers in Vietnam said recently they
expected Hanoi to permit a small devaluation of
the official dong currency rate in the near future to
help exports and boost liquidity in the interbank
market.
Analysts say that while Vietnam has been
relatively insulated from the market volatility that
has wreaked havoc in much of Asia over the last
year, the regional crisis has still had a powerful
impact on foreign investment and exports.
REUTERS, June 4, 1998.
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