Vietnam growth stable for next two years: ADB

“Economic growth will likely hold up well in the near term, supported by export-oriented manufacturing, foreign direct investment, and sustained domestic demand,” Eric Sidgwick, ADB country director for Vietnam, said Wednesday at the release of the bank’s Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2019 report.

Growth will continue to be broad-based, underpinned by robust private consumption, the continued expansion of manufacturing, services, and agriculture, and greater market access for Vietnam’s exports through various free trade agreements, including the recently ratified the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the report says.

Inflation is expected to average 3.5 percent in 2019 and 3.8 percent in 2020.

Risks, however, remain, as the world’s major economies, Vietnam’s key trading partners, are weakening. Domestically, sluggish progress in reform of state-owned enterprises could be a drag on growth, the report says.

It underlines the importance of Vietnam strengthening private firms’ integration into global value chains, saying it is a key policy challenge for the country’s long-term growth.

Vietnam’s GDP grew 7.38 percent in the first three months of this year, according to the General Statistics Office.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment has forecast country’s economic growth this year at 6.7 or 6.8 percent.