Vietnam forex reserves to top $95B: forecast

"The recent appreciation of the dong, which reflects the improved external position, would give the central bank space to rebuild the FX buffers that were spent down during the U.S. dollar’s rally last year," Bloomberg quoted Nishad Majumdar, a sovereign analyst in Singapore, as saying.

The reserves stood at $88.3 billion in January, according to the International Monetary Fund.

The State Bank of Vietnam has so far bought dollars worth $6 billion to boost its reserves, according to Nguyen Quoc Hung, general secretary of Vietnam Banks Association (VNBA).

It is very significant to the economy, he said.

Securities company VNDirect has forecast the reserves to increase to $102 billion by the end of this year.

The dong has gained 6% against the greenback in the last six months as the latter weakened after a huge surge.