Vietnam foreign debt hit 42% of GDP in 2010

Vietnam's foreign debt stood at $32.5 billion at the end of 2010, up from $27.9 billion a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance said Monday.

The figure included $27.9 billion worth of loans taken by the government and $4.6 billion worth of government-guaranteed loans taken by local companies, the ministry said in a statement.

Most of the loans bear an annual interest rate of between 1% and 2.99%, it said.

The country's foreign debt in 2010 accounted for 42.2% of its gross domestic product, up from 39% in 2009.

Vietnam's largest creditors in 2010 included the governments of France and Japan, the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.

Vietnam repaid $1.67 billion of principal and interest to its creditors in 2010.

the wall street journal

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