The Vietnam Government Portal has quoted the World Bank (WB)’s Vietnam Macro-monitoring November 2023 report as suggesting that Vietnam consider extending its economic support program (2022-2023) into next year, as its economy still faces headwinds.

According to the bank, following the trend since April, the monthly seasonally-adjusted Index of Industrial Production (IIP) registered growth of 2.7 per cent in November compared to October.

Exports and imports of goods continued to improve in response to recovering external demand, increasing 6.7 per cent and 5.1 per cent, respectively, year-on-year.

The increase in exports in November was due to rises in key agriculture products, such as rice, coffee, fruit and vegetables, and electronics (20.2 per cent), machinery (5 per cent), shoes and leather products (10.9 per cent), and furniture (23.6 per cent).

Growth in imports is closely linked to the recovery of exports, given that imported inputs for the production of exports account for 94 per cent of total imports.

Cumulative FDI in the first eleven months of 2023 continued to increase, reaching $28.8 billion, or 14.8 per cent higher than in the same period of 2022, despite the global uncertainties, reflecting investor confidence in Vietnam’s economic prospects, according to the WB.

Amid the economic slowdown, financial sector vulnerabilities call for continued vigilance while efforts to restore confidence and promote a healthy development of the real estate market will be key to supporting economic stability in the short term and economic growth in the long term, the WB recommended.