IMF agrees to preferential credits of 460 million for Vietnam


April 7 (VNA) -- The International Monetary Fund, IMF, Executive approved a preferential credit of almost USD 460 million for Viet Nam's poverty-reduction and growth-facility programme for 2001-2003 on April 6.

The sum will be disbursed equally over seven half-years.
It is intended to help Viet Nam reform State-owned enteprises, the banking system and trade.

It will focus on promoting domestic investment, restoring foreign direct investment flow, raising competitiveness and maintaining macro-economic stability so as to accelerate economic development and increase per-capita income. In this way, it will contribute to hunger eradication and poverty reduction.

The programme is the second preferential approved for Viet Nam by the IMF since the normalization of Viet Nam-IMF relations in October 1993.

The World Bank Executive is now scheduled to consider and ratify the programme on April 12--VNA