Vietnam seeks to revive public spending stunned by graft drive

Although Vietnam’s economy expanded a better-than-forecast 6.93% in the June quarter from a year earlier, the International Monetary Fund projects full-year growth to come in at 5.8% - behind Philippines’ estimated 6.2%. - Photo: Vietnam News/ANN

HANOI (Bloomberg): Vietnam is scrambling to boost state spending after the pace of budget utilization in the first-half of the year decelerated, as government officials wary of an anti-graft campaign dither over decisions.

The government aims to turbo-charge spending in the second half to ensure at least 95% of its budget is utilized, up from just 29.4% in the January-June period, according to a website post.