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Article: Vietnam Launching Austerity Measures In Bid to Qualify for International Help
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- April 9, 1989
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Vietnam, eager to return to the good graces of the international
lending community, has announced a series of tough economic austerity
measures aimed at reducing the country's budget deficit, holding down
wages, increasing tax collections and cutting government spending.
The most dramatic change, which took effect in March, was a
revaluation of the currency, the Vietnamese dong, to bring the
official rate more in line with the black market rate. In late
March, the official exchange rate was set at 4,500 dong per U.S.
dollar, only marginally lower than the black market rate of 5,000 to
1.
The steps, most of which have not yet been fully implemented,