(Illustrative photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Economists are upgrading their growth projections forVietnam after the latest data showed the economy surged more than 7 percent inthe third quarter, according to Bloomberg.
Citigroup Inc. revised its full-year forecast of Vietnam’s GDP to 6.9percent from 6.7 percent, on the basis of another solid performance in thefourth quarter.
Analysts at Maybank Kim Eng Research Ltd. also lifted their forecast ofVietnam’s economic expansion to 7 percent from their previous prediction of 6.8percent.
Meanwhile, United Overseas BankLtd. changed to 6.8 percent for the year from 6.7 percent, and CapitalEconomics Ltd. kept their projection of 7 percent, Bloomberg said.
Solid exports and manufacturing growth enabled thethird-quarter gain of 7.31 percent. Theexpansion was the highest since the start of last year, and reflectsgrowing foreigninvestment into Vietnam.
According to two economists of Maybank – Linda Liu and Chua Hak Bin, risingforeign direct investment and “buoyant domestic demand, as suggested by the recentrobust retail sales growth”, will keep the momentum going through the year-endand in early 2020.
Currently, many international financial institutions are issuing very positiveassessments about the prospects of Vietnam's economy in the coming time.
HSBC predicts that inflation in Vietnam will be kept below 2.7 percent, whileGDP growth is expected to ease to 6.7 percent in the whole year.
Edward Lee, chief economist for ASEAN and South Asia at Standard Chartered BankGlobal Research, said he believes that Vietnam will be the fastest growingeconomy in ASEAN this year with aprojected growth reaching 6.9 percent, and this is expected to continue until2021.
Accordingto the General Statistics Office, the country’s GDP in the first nine months ofthis year was estimated to increase by 6.98 percent – the highest in the sameperiods in the last nine years.-VNA
