The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has recently announced figures about the
international payment balance in the first quarter (Q1) and Q2 2012 for the
first time in accordance with the Circular No 35/2011.
Accordingly, in Q2, the current
account balance enjoyed a surplus of $1.4 billion, down nearly 60 percent from
the surplus in Q1. Totally, in the first six months of the year, the country’s
current account balance surplus reached $4.47 billion.
Current account balance has been
improved sharply in the first two quarters of this year mainly thanks to
revenue from sales of goods (trade balance surplus of $4.12 billion in H1/2012)
and a one-way money transfer from the private sector, including inbound
remittances ($4.1 billion).
Previously, according to the
statistics from Asian Development Bank (ADB), current account balance deficit
has lasted constantly from the second half of 2009 till the first half of 2011.
In the last six months of 2011, the current account balance enjoyed a surplus
of only nearly $2 billion.
The surplus of the current
account shows the cash flows earned from trade activities and one-way international
money transfer to offset pretty well for services and payments in
foreign-invested sector.
In the first six months of the
year, Vietnam has borrowed from foreign credit institutions totalling more than
$10.1 billion and paid out $8.4 billion for repayment of principal debts.
Foreign institutions have also invested more than $1 billion in valuable papers
of Vietnam in the first half of this year while Vietnam has invested only $98
million to purchase valuable papers in foreign countries.
Balance of finance and capital
also enjoyed a surplus in Q2 with over $1.44 billion, up 7 percent compared to
Q1. Totally, in H1/2012 the balance of finance and capital enjoyed a surplus of
$2.78 billion. The surplus in balance of finance and capital was mainly thanks
to the proceeds from foreign direct investment (direct investment surplus in
the first six months of 2012 reached $3.55 billion).
Basing on the data from the ADB,
the balance of capital account has been always in a surplus since the beginning
of 2009 so far, but it has decreased gradually from a peak of nearly $12
billion surplus achieved in the last six months of 2009.
Including errors and mistakes of
about $1 billion, in the first six months of 2012, the overall balance of
payments enjoyed a surplus of $6.45 billion, double against the estimated
surplus level for the whole year 2011 and after a deficit of nearly $12 billion
in 2009 and 2010.
The increase in overall payment
balance surplus is an important factor contributing to price stability and
increasing the foreign currency reserves. According to ADB in its updated
report on Asia development outlook 2012 recently, this organisation estimated
that Vietnam’s foreign currency reserves in Q2/2012 reached about 2.4 months of
imports, the highest since 2010 so far.
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