Vietnam’s economy sees positive changes: World Bank
Vietnam is facing challenges in restarting the economy after a prolonged lockdown, but positive dynamics observed in October would suggest continued pickup and strengthening of growth in coming months,the World Bank (WB) in Vietnam said in its Vietnam macroeconomic update for November released on November 12.
The report outlines that industrial production and retail sales have been rebounding as economic activities progressively resume, although they have yet to recover to the levels observed before the local outbreak which hit the country in April.
Goods trade balance registered a surplus for the second month in a row as import growth continued to slow down. For the first ten months of this year, Vietnam enjoyed a trade surplus of 160 million USD. Meanwhile, the number of registered FDI decreased after three months of increase.
In total, the nation attracted US$23.7 billion worth of committed FDI in the opening 10 months of the year, a figure 1.1% higher than the same period from last year. Despite rising fuel prices, inflation remained subdued as a result of softening food prices and weakening domestic demand for non-food products.
Credit growth was stable in October. State budget revenue and expenditure balance returned to surplus in October mainly driven by a sharp fall in budget expenditures although revenues continued to decrease for the third month. In general, for the ten-month period, the budget surplus was a sign that tight fiscal policy would continue to be implemented.
According to WB experts, Vietnam is facing many obstacles in restarting the economy after a prolonged period of social isolation, but the positive developments observed in October showed that the situation will continue to improve, and growth will accelerate in the months to come.
