Vietnam Today

A ceremony to start the Stockholm+50 National Consultations in Vietnam was held on April 13. Vietnam is one of 58 countries holding national consultations to take people’s opinions to a global conference on climate change challenges. Recommendations from the consultations will be incorporated into the Vietnam Report and help shape the messages at the Stockholm+50 global conference.

In its macroeconomic and stock market update, Dragon Capital said it believes that after the Covid wave passes Vietnam’s economy may post growth of 7.0 per cent this year. Moreover, it believes that if the economic recovery package is implemented early and effectively, growth could reach 8.6 per cent.

The government’s action program to implement the National Assembly’s Resolution on the economic restructuring plan for the 2021-2025 period includes goals such as, by 2025, stock market capitalization reaching at least 85 per cent of GDP. It also sets out three groups of key tasks and solutions, including focusing on restructuring public investment, the State budget, and credit institutions; developing different kinds of markets; and growing enterprise numbers.

Faced with slow ODA disbursement of less than 1 per cent of the annual plan in the first quarter, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh signed an official document dated April 8 of the Prime Minister requesting that ministries, branches, and localities speed up the disbursement of ODA and foreign concessional loans. ODA disbursement is considered a key political task this year and it is necessary to coordinate with foreign investors to prepare detailed disbursement plans for each project, especially key projects.

During a working visit to northern Quang Ninh province on April 6, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong suggested that it better promote its pioneering role in many fields to be a bright spot in innovation and a growth pole in the northern delta, exploit its competitive advantages from newly-completed strategic transport networks to strongly promote regional links and new development corridors, and attach the marine economy to the protection of natural resources and the ecological environment for sustainable tourism development.

The United Overseas Bank (UOB) believes that Vietnam’s GDP growth will reach 6.5 per cent this year. With inflationary pressure increasing, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) is likely to maintain an appropriate interest rate policy to support recovery efforts. Regarding exchange rates, UOB forecasts the VND will depreciate slightly against the USD.