The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has announced its key orientation of monetary policy management and banking operations in 2017.

The SBV reported that in the first 11 months, total means of payment were on the rise but have yet put pressure on inflation. As of November 22, money supply rose 14.92% year-on-year while capital mobilization surged 15.28%.  

As of November 28, credit growth rose 14.57% as against December last year, of which lending in foreign currencies increased 3.49% – suitable with the Government’s de-dollarization policy.

The credit growth to date has been reasonable and positive with a focus on production and business, which has contributed to the restructuring of the agricultural sector as well as the development of fishery and spare-parts industries as well as small-and medium-sized firms, export and high-tech firms.

Key monetary policy for 2017

The SBV said that it would pursue a proactive and flexible monetary policy next year to stabilize the rates of interest and foreign exchange.

The monetary policy will also be in close conjunction with fiscal and other macro-economic policies in a move to control inflation and support economic growth at a reasonable level.

The central bank would continuously try to increase the country’s foreign reserves besides supporting efforts to stabilize the forex market in 2017.

Measures will be also taken to stabilize the monetary market and ensure the liquidity of the banking system, according to the central bank.

As for the interest rate, the central bank is targeting a stable rate as in 2016.

Though the central bank has yet to release the credit growth target for 2017, it has revealed that it will take measures to control it to ensure the lending is safe and effective.

Lending will continuously focus on the Government’s five prioritized sectors of agriculture, exports, spare-parts industries, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and hi-tech firms, while limiting the capital to risky industries.