Vietnam Today

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a phone call with the Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Li Keqiang on January 13, on the occasion of the 72nd anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam - China diplomatic relations on January 18. Regarding the issue of goods congestion at border gates, he emphasized that the two sides need to closely coordinate and effective apply measures to resolve the situation, ensuring smooth trade to maintain stable supply and production chains between the two countries and within the region, especially for the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday. He also suggested that China continue to expand the importation of Vietnamese goods and step up opening markets for a number of additional agricultural products. Despite being affected by the pandemic, bilateral trade turnover hit a record $160 billion in 2021.

Covid-19 continues to be a threat to Vietnam’s economic recovery, but the country is now able to live with the pandemic. The increasing industrial production index and purchasing managers index, the higher recovery speed compared to the world, the thriving digital economy, and the socio-economic recovery program worth nearly VND350 trillion ($15.35 billion) are factors that will help the country in its recovery process.

According to the World Bank (WB), in the medium term, when the service sector is set to recover and if there are no new fluctuations, Vietnam’s economy will return to its pre-Covid-19 growth level by 2023. It also forecast that GDP growth will rise to 5.5 per cent this year from 2.6 per cent in 2021. The budget deficit and public debt will be at 58.8 per cent of GDP, much lower than the limit, while inflation will be less than 4 per cent. The WB also pointed out some risks for the country’s economy, in particular the unpredictable developments of the pandemic, fiscal and monetary space being narrowed, and challenges in sustainable development.

According to a forecast from Standard Chartered Bank, Vietnam’s economy will recover strongly this year, with GDP growth at 6.7 per cent. It also forecast 2023 growth of 7 per cent and believes the outlook for the economy in the medium term remains positive.

The National Assembly (NA) has approved the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles in nine laws: the Law on Public Investment, the Law on Investment in the Form of Public-Private Partnership, the Law on Investment, the Law on Housing, the Law on Competition Contractors, the Law on Electricity, the Law on Enterprises, the Law on Special Consumption Tax, and the Law on Enforcement of Civil Judgments. The amendments will come into effect on March 1.

The National Assembly (NA) has approved fiscal and monetary policies to support Vietnam’s socio-economic recovery and development. The policy package totals nearly VND350 trillion ($15.5 billion) and will be implemented this year and next.