Vietnam Currency Discussion Board

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IMF’s Kato says Vietnam’s future bright


Takatoshi Kato (C)
By THANH TRUNG

(SGT-HANOI) International Monetary Fund (IMF) deputy managing director Takatoshi Kato yesterday expressed his confidence in a bright future for Vietnam, saying the economy is developing fast despite substantial challenges ahead.

“The country has a bright future and its economy is opening up in terms of trade and investment,” Kato said at a press conference in Hanoi yesterday.

In order to continue to preserve a good investment environment, “I think authorities need to be aware of sustainable development, and this is the advice IMF is providing to all of its member countries,” he said.

Kato, who arrived in Hanoi yesterday for a visit, said that “Vietnam is a very successful economy that has been growing very fast for the last few years.”

Fundamentals of Vietnam’s economy are strong, he continued, saying there was a basis for expecting the continuation of good growth in the future.

However, the country now has to face a lot of challenges coming from its own success of economic growth as well as from its entry into the World Trade Organization. He therefore stressed good governance as key to overcome challenges.

“Certainly the strengthening of the foundation of Vietnam’s economic development is very important. From that point of view, I think investment and corporate law and relevant regulations contribute to governance improvement in the economic sector,” he said in answering a question by the Daily.

The fund leader also hailed Vietnam’s efforts in fighting corruption.

“I think that the determination Vietnamese authorities pursue to combat corruption is very encouraging. We welcome that determination of Vietnam,” he said.

Lazaros Molho, a senior official of the IMF, said that on the macro-economic side, Vietnam faces the challenge of inflation and there is a need to control inflation to make sure that growth is sustainable.

“The opening to overseas capital flow is more difficult for monitoring policies to work as effectively as it was in the past, so the challenge of macroeconomic stabilization for the Vietnamese Government becomes more complex,” he said, adding the fiscal policy needed to be strengthened to make sure that inflation was contained.

Kato and his delegation will have meetings with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and other high-level officials today before wrapping up the visit.