Vietnam's central bank yesterday said that it was raising its three key interest rates by up to 1.5 percentage points as of February 1, as the communist authorities struggle to tame the surging inflation that has recently fuelled labour unrest among factory workers.

It would be the first interest rate rise in Vietnam since December 2005 and comes as Vietnam, one of Asia's fastest-growing economies, shows clear signs of overheating, amid rapid credit growth.