Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 13:29:37 -0700 (PDT)
From: Chris <red-AT-iww.org>
Subject: the price of capital in Vietnam


Hanoi set to pay United States $146m to retire South Vietnam's wartime debt

Associated Press
_Boston Globe_ http://www.boston.com Tuesday, April 8, 1997 page A4

Ho Chi Minh City -- Hanoi will repay the wartime debt of its defeated foe 
under a pact signed yesterday by US Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and 
Vietnamese officials.
The agreement calls for Hanoi to repay $146 million worth of the former 
South Vietnam's loans.
[...]
The overdue loans date to when Washington was channeling hundreds of 
millions of dollars into South Vietnam to try and prop up its government.
Hanoi will repay four loans used for grain imports, road building, and 
power development. None of that money was used for military purposes 
during the war, US Treasury Department officials said.
[...]
The accord follows months of negotiations on the amount of debt that 
Hanoi was to absorb.
[...]
"There is a lot Vietnam can do, and quickly, to mobilize the private 
sector and foreign investment," Rubin said.
Vietnam, with its market of 75 million people, needs to establish a 
modern legal system, reduce trade barriers, and continue private sector 
liberalization, he said.
[...]
The Vietnamese government hopes the pact will lead to financing from the 
Export-Import Bank and other economic assistance from Washington.
"We had to agree on old debts so we could have new relations, such as new 
loans and cooperation agreements," said Nguyen Manh Hoa, director of the 
external financial division of the Finance Ministry.


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