Vietnam to raise national credit rating

The Department of Debt Management and External Finance at the Ministry of Finance worked with Standard Chartered Bank to organize a webinar on September 1 to consult with international experts to finalize the “Assessing the results of the national credit rating for the period of 2013-2020 and proposed orientations for the period of 2021-2030” scheme.

Department Director Truong Hung Long told the webinar that Vietnam has become a middle-income country and will gradually depend more on commercial loans. It therefore needs to improve its national credit rating in order to enhance its prestige, gain the trust of international investors, and lower the cost of raising foreign capital for both the government and enterprises.

Over the past decade, Vietnam has paid greater attention to the importance of its national credit rating and the necessity of improving the results of the national credit coefficient. In order to create favorable conditions for the government and private businesses to access the international capital market, Vietnam has signed agreements with credit rating agencies, including Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch. Since 2013, the Prime Minister has approved a scheme to improve the national credit rating and at the same time issued a Decision on providing information and coordination to implement the national credit rating.

Along with improving the quality of cooperation with credit rating agencies, Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements in recent years have also been recognized. The country’s active efforts to improve its financial status were highly appreciated by rating agencies, contributing to improvements in the national credit rating, especially since 2014.
According to the Ministry of Finance, in the next ten years, ministries and agencies need to improve key factors in every sector and field to enhance Vietnam’s national credit rating.

In June, Vietnam was the only country in the world whose credit rating was upgraded from stable to positive since the outbreak of Covid-19, as assessed by Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch.