Vietnam Seeking $250M from WB for Poverty Reduction Program

The Vietnamese government is calling on the World Bank (WB) to increase its funding for the 9th Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC-9) to $250 million from the current $150 million. Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung has assigned the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to coordinate with the authorized ministries to negotiate with the WB for the issue, the SBV said on its website June 1. Earlier, Deputy SBV Governor Nguyen Van Binh was appointed to head the PRSC-9 negotiation team with the WB.  Vietnam targets to reduce the number of poor households to less than 9.5% this year, down from 11% in 2009.