Vietnam shines amid global economic volatilities
Despite global volatilities, Vietnam's economy has rebounded strongly this year beyond the forecasts of many international organisations, making the country one of the rare bright spots in the global gloomy picture and has the potential to become a new 'tiger' in Asia.
The latest report from the General Statistics Office (GSO) showed Vietnam's GDP growth rate in the first nine months of 2022 hit a 12-year high to reach 8.83 per cent. Notably, the economy expanded 13.76 per cent in Q3 2022 compared to 7.72 per cent and 5.05 per cent in Q2 and Q1 2022, respectively. The 13.7 per cent GDP expansion in Q3 2022 was a record quarterly growth rate in Vietnam and surpassed the rate of 13.5 per cent of India to become the highest in Asia this year.
The World Bank attributed Vietnam's rebound to a recovery of exports and the release of pent-up demand following the removal of COVID-19-related mobility restrictions and, more recently, the gradual return of foreign tourists.
Disbursement of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first nine months of this year also surged 16.2 per cent year-on-year to $15.4 billion, marking a five-year record high, the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) reported.
These positive figures showed foreign-invested enterprises have been constantly recovering and expanding their production and business activities in Vietnam, which has reflected business confidence in the country's success in maintaining macroeconomic stability, FIA said in its September report.
According to Tran Van Son, Minister of the Government Office, international organisations have positive assessments of Vietnam's socio-economic situation. They forecast the country's economic growth rates in 2022 and 2023 will be among the highest in Southeast Asia.
Economist Brian Lee Shun Rong at Malaysia's largest financial services group Maybank believed as a rising star in the global supply chain, Vietnam has the potential to become a new 'tiger' in Asia after the Republic of Korea (RoK), Singapore, and China's Taiwan and Hong Kong.
