Containers are loaded at Hai Phong Port. (Photo: VNA)John Paul Lech, portfolio manager at Matthews Asia, said Vietnamis a frontier market star. While frontier markets are generally smaller, lessliquid and have limited foreign investor access, it has bucked the trend.
For the first six months of 2022, foreign directinvestment (FDI) into Vietnam grew by nearly 9% to 10.1 billion USD.
Economist Chua Han Teng from DBS, thelargest bank in Singapore, forecast Vietnam’s GDP expansion will reach 7% thisyear to meet the set target.
He held that the service sector willcontinue growing fast when COVID-19 is classified as an endemic disease. Theservice sector, especially retails, is bouncing back strongly while the numberof new businesses is increasing.
He added Vietnam is emerging as anexporter of information and communications technology, and its market share maydevelop further.
A corner of Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA)The optimism was supported by ahigher-than-expected GDP growth rate in the second quarter, at 7.7% compared tothe same period last year - the fastest pace in 11 years and much higher thanthe previous estimate of 5.9%. This strong recovery was driven by manufacturingactivities which have accelerated for four straight quarters and the reboundedservice outputs which have continued regaining its foothold since the lastdecline in the third quarter of 2021.
However, economist Yun Liu saiddespite an optimistic growth trend, the energy crisis has begun affectingVietnam’s growth, recommending the country pay attention to rising growth risks,especially those posed by soaring energy prices./.
VNA
