Central bank told to push down interest rates

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung, speaking at a meeting in Hanoi on Monday with the country’s 63 provinces and cities and 27 leading state-owned companies, said the central bank would have to find ways to lower interest rates. Interest rates must be cut to acceptable levels, he told the video teleconference intended to deploy the Government’s emergency measures to ensure macro economic stability, control inflation and achieve 6.5% GDP growth. Hung emphasized the role of state-owned commercial banks in increasing liquidity for the economy battered by high interest rates and said the central bank should adopt flexible interest rate policy to encourage banks to cut rates, said the Government on its website. The central bank should also maintain the stability of the exchange rate between Vietnamese dong and the U.S. dollar. Hung noted the Government could consider lowering fuel import tariffs and keeping unchanged coal prices for power stations, and power tariffs for households and producers as key measures to put consumer prices under control. As for the trade deficit, Hung said, a host of measures permitted by international practices will be taken to accelerate exports and at the same time restrict import spending.