The US$500 million five-year term loan, sourced from the bank’s Countercyclical Support Facility (CSF) will help finance the country’s crucial public expenditure programmes in 2009 and 2010.

The CSF, established in June 2009, is a programme designed to help the ADB's developing member countries prevent economic recession. The CSF loan will help reduce pressure on the state budget in financing the economic stimulus package and poverty reduction programmes in Vietnam.

The CSF loan is extremely necessary for the Government’s comprehensive package of measures to facilitate economic recovery in the short term and promote poverty reduction in the long term.

The 100 million US$ loan is aimed at assisting the Vietnamese government to conduct a wide range of policy reforms in the areas of business development, social integration, natural resource management, and governance.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, the State Bank of Vietnam Governor Nguyen Van Giau, said that since late 2008, Vietnam has had to cope with the negative socio-economic impact of the global financial crisis by adopting a number of stimulus measures including an interest rate support package.

At present, Vietnam still needs more funding for its programmes aimed at preventing economic recession and maintaining growth.