Vietnam's economy is expected to grow by 3.0 per cent in 2020, with rising consumption on improving sentiments and faster manufacturing driving the growth in the last quarter of this year, Vietnam News Agency cited a recent report by Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) as saying on Friday.
"We expect the fourth-quarter growth to increase as domestic activity resumes and sentiments pick up," Chidu Narayanan, SCB's economist for Asia, was cited as saying, adding that the bank maintains its positive view on Vietnam's medium- and long-term economic outlook, reports Xinhua.
A likely improvement in external demand in the fourth quarter should support manufacturing growth, forecast at roughly 7.3 per cent in 2020, leading to the increase of both exports and imports, the news agency reported, adding that trade is likely to remain in surplus for the rest of 2020 as exports and imports move in tandem.
SCB's economists expect newly registered foreign direct investment inflows into Vietnam to decline in 2020, but remain strong at close to 13 billion US dollars, the report said.
A recent report by the International Monetary Fund forecasts that Vietnam will be the only country in Southeast Asia to have positive growth this year at 1.6 per cent and will reach 6.7 per cent by 2021, compared to the SCB's estimate of 3.0 per cent this year and 7.8 per cent in 2021, Vietnam News Agency reported.
Vietnam's economy grew 2.12 per cent in the first nine months of this year, the lowest rate in the 2011-2020 period, according to the country's General Statistics Office.