The dong has fallen more than 3% this year and is hovering near its August record low
[HANOI] The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) plans to keep pursuing policies to spur growth while containing inflation, aiming to boost lending to businesses even as it controls credit to riskier sectors, according to a central bank briefing in Hanoi.
Bank loans as at Sep 29 rose 13.37 per cent from the end of 2024, deputy governor Pham Thanh Ha said. Property loans rose around 19 per cent in the first nine months of the year, while credit for technology projects and supporting industries rose around 24 per cent, according to Ha Thu Giang, head of the lending department.
The central bank will increase monitoring to ensure lending goes to feasible businesses and priority sectors that are key drivers of economic growth, said Pham Chi Quang, head of SBV’s department for monetary policies.
It will also consider ensuring cheap credit for areas affected by Bualoi, a typhoon which hit parts of the country earlier this week, causing floods, flight delays, and killing more than two dozen people.
The monetary authority has said that it is ready to help the nation meet its growth goals, which were set at an ambitious 8.3 per cent to 8.5 per cent for 2025 even as the US imposed a 20 per cent tariff on the export-dependent economy. The trade levies are putting upward pressure on inflation and adding pressure on the currency.
The dong has fallen more than 3 per cent this year and is hovering near its August record low, with analysts forecasting further declines as the central bank maintains a loose monetary policy to support the government’s growth goal.
Third-quarter economic data due Monday will show whether Vietnam’s export-led economy has started to slow after the Trump administration imposed 20 per cent tariffs from early August. The economy grew faster-than-expected in the first half of 2025 as foreign buyers raced to avoid the levies. BLOOMBERG
