Vietnam's state budget revenue up 15 percent in Q1

Vietnam's state budget revenues were estimated at 280.9 trillion Vietnamese dong (12.48 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter (Q1) of 2017, up 15.2 percent compared to the same period in 2016, accounting for 23.2 percent of the annual estimate, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) on Tuesday.

Among the figures, domestic collection for the period was 232 trillion Vietnamese dong (10.31 billion U.S. dollars), making up 23.4 percent of the projected revenues, and 13.3 percent higher than the same period last year, Vietnam's state-run news agency VNA quoted the MoF as saying.

Meanwhile, budget revenues from crude oil exports in the Q1 reached roughly 11 trillion Vietnamese dong (488.89 million U.S. dollars), meeting 28.9 percent of estimates, up 15.9 percent against 2016.

The increase in the state budget revenue may also be attributed to the vigorous economic growth in the last quarter of 2016, with GDP growth at 6.68 percent, the MoF said.

At the same time, in Q1, Vietnam's state budget expenditure reached nearly 285 trillion Vietnamese dong (12.67 billion U.S. dollars), up 7.8 percent year-on-year and accounting for 20.5 percent of the annual plan.

Expenditures for development investment were recorded at 44.1 trillion Vietnamese dong (1.96 billion U.S. dollars), while debt payment and interest expenses totaled 29.1 trillion Vietnamese dong (1.29 billion U.S. dollars), and regular spending reached 211.2 trillion Vietnamese dong (9.39 billion U.S. dollars).

As a result, overspending stood at over 4 trillion Vietnamese dong (182.22 million U.S. dollars), accounting for 2.27 percent of the yearly estimates, said the MoF. Endit