ADB upgrades Viet Nam’s GDP growth forecast to 2.3% in 2020

• Int’l organizations upbeat about Viet Nam’s economic prospects

In the updated Asian Development Outlook (ADO) which was published on December 12, the lender reported that Viet Nam’s economy rebounded from 0.4% in Q2 to 2.6% in Q3 with average growth rate of 2.9% in the first three quarters.

The ADB attributed the strength of accelerated public investment, revived domestic consumption, trade expansion, and rapid recovery in China to the revision.

Such growth rate would make the Vietnamese economy the highest growth in the Southeast Asia, with the GDP growth expected to bounce back to 6.1% in 2021.

Overall, economic activity in developing Asia is forecast to contract by 0.4% this year, before picking up to 6.8% in 2021 as the region moves toward recovery from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The new growth forecast is an improvement from the -0.7% GDP growth forecast in September, while the outlook for 2021 remains unchanged.

“The outlook for developing Asia is showing improvement. Growth projections have been upgraded for China and India, the region’s two largest economies,” said ADB Chief Economist Yasuyuki Sawada. “A prolonged pandemic remains the primary risk, but recent developments on the vaccine front are tempering this. Safe, effective, and timely vaccine delivery in developing economies will be critical to support the reopening of economies and the recovery of growth in the region.”

Pandemic-induced lockdowns and restrictions have been eased in varying levels in the region, with merchandise exports rebounding quickly from substantial declines in the second quarter. Mobility is also returning to pre-Covid-19 levels in East Asia and the Pacific, where the spread of Covid-19 has largely been contained or prevented in recent months. A recovery in tourism, however, is likely to be delayed./.