World Bank to Lend Vietnam $250M for Economic Management Reforms

The World Bank (WB) on March 19 approved a $250 million lending package for Vietnam to support the country in economic management reforms for higher productivity and competitiveness. The loan aims to help Vietnam conduct reforms in major areas such as the financial sector, fiscal policy, public administration and accountability, management of state enterprises and public investment and improvement of the business environment, the WB said in a statement on its website. The credit comes under the Economic Management and Competitiveness Credit for Vietnam, EMCC 1, the first of a series of three operations, following successes in other programs, the note said. The EMCC will help the Vietnamese government monitor macroeconomic policies and support the stabilization efforts of the government, said the WB. (http://www.worldbank.org Mar 20)