The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has decided to slash many rates by up to 0.5 percentage points from Wednesday as part of the attempts to get the economy back on track after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the new adjustment, which is the second of its kind since March this year, the refinancing rate was down from 5 percent per year to 4.5 percent and the rediscount rate from 3.5 percent to 3 percent, daily newspaper Vietnam News reported on Wednesday.

The SBV also decided to cut the rates for demand deposits and deposits with terms of one month or less from 0.5 percent per year to 0.2 percent.

Deposits with terms from one month to less than six months also witnessed a 0.5-percentage point cut.

The cuts aim to support the country's recovery with adequate capital as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hit the global economy forcing many central banks to cut rates and launch unprecedented stimulus packages to prop up weakening domestic economies and global markets, the newspaper reported.

On March 16, the SBV also decided to cut a series of rates by up to 0.5 percentage points.