STATE BANK DECIDES TO CUT REFINANCE INTEREST RATE FROM APRIL 3

The State Bank (SBV) has just announced that it will reduce the refinancing interest rate by 0.5 percentage points to 5.5% from April 3 to support economic growth.

The overnight electronic interbank rate will be kept at the current 6.0%.

The discount rate will also remain unchanged at 3.5%.

This is the second time the State Bank has decided to cut key operating interest rates this year.

The decisions were made in the context of production and trade difficulties, declining export motivation in the first quarter of the year, along with global economic uncertainties, according to the State Bank of Vietnam.

On March 14, it was decided to reduce the rediscount interest rate from 4.5% to 3.5%, applicable from the next day.

According to a report by the General Statistics Office, Vietnam's economy slowed to 3.32% in the first quarter, the second lowest growth rate in the past 12 years.