Vietnam to disburse $30bln of public investment funds this year to tackle virus impact

HANOI — Vietnam will aim to disburse US$30 billion in public investment funds this year, up 67 percent year-on-year, the government said on Friday, as it seeks to boost an economy hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak that has infected 257 people nationally. 

Public investment, excluding investment made by state-owned enterprises, often accounts for around one-fifth of Vietnam’s total investment and is spent on infrastructure and social development projects. 

The Southeast Asian country’s gross domestic product in the first quarter of this year grew at its slowest pace in ten years, at 3.8 percent due to the pandemic.