VIETNAM

World Bank Expected to Approve $100-Million Loan to Vietnam: The World Bank is expected to approve a $100-million loan for Vietnam next month to help the communist country reform its economy and buy needed imports, a senior Bank official said last week. The World Bank resumed lending to Vietnam last November after a 15-year hiatus as a thawing of relations between Hanoi and Washington paved the way for international assistance. Since then, the Bank has approved some $400 million in loans for Hanoi. The new $100-million loan, which will be accompanied by additional low-cost financing from the IMF, will be used for a variety of purposes, including banking reform.