Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung Friday chaired a cabinet meeting to discuss the current global financial meltdown and its impacts on Vietnam.

Dung said the crisis is spreading with its scale, complexity and consequence much greater than previously forecast, pushing the world economy to the brink of a recession.

While admitting the crisis would have some impact on the Vietnamese economy, ministers said Vietnam is capable of warding off a crisis with its better balanced macro economy, larger hard currency reserves and greater control over the trade imbalance and inflation.

Dung urged concerned agencies to keep a close watch on the global crisis to make timely recommendations. The government must spare no effort to minimize the effect of the financial crisis and continue with its stated priority of curbing inflation, while taking advantage of every favorable condition for development, he said.

He also instructed the agencies to be focused on the safety of the banking system.

Source: VNA