By WSJ Staff
Moody's Investors Service upgraded the ratings of Vietnam on
Tuesday, citing the country's emerging track record of
macroeconomic stability.
The rating firm said it raised the senior unsecured and issuer
bond ratings of Vietnam by one notch, to B1 from B2, with a stable
outlook. These ratings now are four notches below investment-grade
territory.
Moody's also raised the Southeast Asian nation's long-term
foreign currency bond ceiling to Ba2 from B1, and its long-term
foreign currency deposit ceiling to B2 from B3.
The firm also raised Vietnam's local currency country risk
ceiling to Ba1 from Ba2.
Vietnam's balance of payments and external payments position
have strengthened, and contingent risks from the banking sector
have eased, Moody's said.
Earlier this month, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said,
however, that increasing bad debts could significantly undermine
the resilience of Vietnam's banking sector.
In early July, the State Bank of Vietnam said it would stick to
its loan growth target of 12%-14% for this year to ensure
"appropriate" economic growth, despite sluggish loan growth in the
first half of 2014.
Vietnam's economic growth relies heavily on loans. The country
is aiming for gross domestic product growth of 5.8% this year
compared with last year's growth of 5.42%.
Vu Trong Khanh contributed to this article.