VIETNAM

Economy Is Called a ‘Mess’: Vietnam’s top official in charge of fiscal policy believes the country’s economy is “a mess” and bound to get worse unless the government steps up its fight against inflation, inefficiency and corruption. Deputy Premier Phan Van Khai said low tax returns, an unstable currency and continued dependence on government handouts threatened future growth, according to a Friday edition of the Saigon Newsreader. “Our country is faced with crucial hardships in all respects,” Khai was quoted as saying. “The (economic) order is still a mess, the laws are not strictly respected and socioeconomic efficiency is still very limited.” Khai, in a speech at a national finance conference held recently in Ho Chi Minh City, said the government’s most pressing task was to curb inflation and maintain a stable value for its currency. After a serious bout with hyperinflation, Vietnam managed to curb inflation to about 40% in 1989. But it surged back to about 100% in 1990, and continues to ride high this year. The Vietnamese currency, the dong, has fluctuated wildly in value against the dollar and gold in black market trading, plummeting in value from about 5,000 dong to the dollar in August, 1990, to about 11,000 early this month.