Vietnam’s balance of payments (BoP) as of the second quarter of this year climbed to $6.4 billion, doubling the BoP estimate for 2011, according to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).

The SBV has published detailed figures on the national foreign currency balance in the first two quarters of 2012 for the first time in accordance with the Circular No 35/2011.

Accordingly, in Q2/2012, the current account balance enjoyed a surplus of $1.4 billion, down nearly 60 percent from the surplus in Q1/2012.

In total, the country’s current account balance surplus reached $4.47 billion in the first half of this year.

The current account balance improved sharply in the first two quarters of this year mainly thanks to the revenues from the sales of goods, represented in a $4.12 billion surplus in trade balance in H1/2012, and a one-way money transfer from the private sector; including $4.1 billion inbound remittances.

Previously, according to statistics from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the current account balance deficit lasted constantly from the second half of 2009 till the first half of 2011.

In the last six months of 2011, the current account balance enjoyed a surplus of nearly $2 billion.

The surplus of the current account shows the cash flows earned from trade activities and one-way international money transfers offset well the services and payments in the foreign-invested sector.

In the first six months of the year, Vietnam has borrowed a total of over $10.1 billion from foreign credit institutions, and repaid $8.4 billion of principals.

Foreign institutions have also invested more than $1 billion in valuable papers of Vietnam in the first half of this year, while Vietnam has invested only $98 million to purchase valuable papers in foreign countries.

Balance of capital and the financial accounts account also enjoyed a surplus in Q2 with over $1.44 billion, up 7 percent compared to Q1.

In total, in H1/2012 the balance of capital and financial accounts enjoyed a $2.78 billion surplus, mainly thanks to the proceeds from foreign direct investment. The direct investment surplus in the first six months of 2012 reached $3.55 billion.

Based on the data from the ADB, Vietnam’s balance of capital account has been always in a surplus since the beginning of 2009, but has decreased gradually from a peak of the nearly $12 billion surplus achieved in the last six months of 2009.

Including possible accounting errors and mistakes of about $1 billion, in the first six months of 2012, the overall BoP enjoyed a $6.45 billion surplus, doubling that of 2011. Vietnam’s BoP saw a deficit of nearly $12 billion in 2009 and 2010.

The increase in overall payment balance surplus is an important factor contributing to price stability and increasing the foreign currency reserves.

According to the ADB in its recently updated report on Asia’s development outlook for 2012, it is estimated that Vietnam’s foreign currency reserves in Q2/2012 reached about 2.4 months of imports, the highest since 2010.

The foreign exchange reserves of Vietnam have increased to some $22-23 billion, equal to 11.5 weeks of imports following international norms, according to a market research newsletter of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam released early last month.

SBV foreign currency net purchases have continued each month since early this year, said the BIDV.

As of April 2012, the foreign exchange reserves of Vietnam were equivalent to the payments for nine weeks of imports, up from about 7.5 weeks as of mid-2011, said the government without citing specific figure in the socioeconomic report 2011 submitted to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.

The current forex reserves may range from $19-$20 billion, according to experts quoted in newswires Vneconomy and Dan Tri who cited the government’s socioeconomic report.