A woman rides a bicycle past the building of the State Bank of Vietnam in Hanoi May 17, 2016. ― Reuters pic
HANOI, Jan 15 — The State Bank of Vietnam said yesterday it was not aiming to create “unfair competitive advantage” in international trade, after the country appeared on a US watch list of currency manipulators.
“The State Bank of Vietnam will coordinate with relevant agencies to discuss and address the issue raised by the US Treasury in a cooperative manner,” it said in a statement.
Vietnam has been singled out by Washington given its trade surplus with the United States, a highly positive current account balance and a perception that its central bank has been quite active in terms of net foreign exchange purchases.
Vietnam’s trade surplus with the United States, the south-east Asian country’s biggest export market, widened to US$46.98 billion last year from US$34.87 billion in 2018.
The central bank also said it would continue to pursue a “flexible monetary policy” meant to contain inflation and maintain macro-stability. — Reuters
