Vietnam needs more appropriate policies as well as key drivers to promote economic recovery post-pandemic, according to analysts at a webinar with the theme “ASEAN+3 Regional Economic Recovery: New Drivers of Growth and Optimism”, co-hosted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) on May 13.

Covid-19 caused many difficulties in Vietnam, especially last year, but the vaccination campaign had the desired effect. “This also made Vietnam adopt better strategies for economic recovery,” said Mr. Tran Toan Thang, Chief of the Editorial Board at the Department of Industrial and Business Forecast under the National Center for Socio-Economic Information and Forecast (NCIF).

The most important thing Vietnam had in its recovery strategy is that it quickly opened its economy after the vaccination rate increased. It also facilitated exports as much as possible, which are a key economic driver. Mr. Thang emphasized that thanks to suitable strategies, the country’s exports were much higher last year than previously, with 30 per cent growth recorded, which in turn helped Vietnam promote its economic recovery.

For further recovery, the keys to Vietnam’s growth are not only boosting exports and opening up its economy quickly but also the introduction of its socio-economic support package and increased infrastructure investment from the government. The driving force for the economy this year is considered to come from the recovery of the labor market, which is an important condition for boosting production. “I still believe that Vietnam’s economy can recover soon,” Mr. Thang said. “In our forecast, Vietnam’s GDP growth is to reach 6.1-6.2 per cent this year, which is similar to prior to Covid-19.”

The economic growth potential of ASEAN+3 has also suffered from the pandemic, including in labor, productivity, capital, and investment. However, according to Ms. Marthe Memoration Hinojales, an Economist with the Regional Surveillance team at AMRO, while the tourism sector needs time to recover, digital services could boost productivity growth in the region in the long run. In the post-pandemic period, businesses need to take advantage of the outstanding development of e-commerce, especially as many people have become familiar with services via the internet. Ms. Hinojales pointed out that supportive governance can also help unlock the potential of fields such as digital banking and telemedicine, and cooperation between regional countries is expected to boost these growth engines.

According to Mr. James Villafuerte, Senior Economist with the ADB, sectors in the region such as tourism, textiles, and agricultural product processing need to be strongly transformed or improved, and the electronics manufacturing and e-commerce industries need more supportive policies for further development. “In order to promote economic recovery, it is essential to strengthen regional links and encourage trade recovery,” Mr. Villafuerte concluded.