PwC offers positive signs on short-term outlook for Vietnamese economy
VOV.VN - The country’s economic growth is forecast to be positive over the short term, according to predictions made the London-based audit service supplier PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
In its updated report on the Vietnamese economy in the first half of the year, PwC outlined that Vietnam is still expected one of the few countries in the world that can maintain strong economic growth this year, while the others will continue to endure a serious slowdown.
The first half of this year has seen Vietnamese socio-economic development face challenges and instabilities from the global economy, with a gross domestic product (GDP) expansion of only 3.72% on-year.
The nation’s service sector recovered thanks to its policies aimed at stimulating domestic consumption and reopening its economy.
Furthermore, the stock market has been adversely impacted by the Government’s policy on inflation control and negative events in the international financial market including the bankruptcy of banks.
While both the agro-forestry-fishery and services sectors tended to recover positively, industry and construction were hard hit by political turmoil occurring around the world.
In the first half of the year, the country posted a trade surplus of US$12.1 million, although the total export value decreased by about 12% compared to the same period from last year.
With the exception of agriculture, chemicals, paper products, and means of transport and components, the majority of the sectors saw their exports decrease by between 10% to 20% over the same period.
Vietnamese exports slowed down due to the impact of falling consumption in the main export markets, with respective annual decreases of 22%, 10%, 10%, and 9% in terms of the export value to the United States, the Republic of Korea, the EU, and ASEAN.
The US remained the nation’s biggest importer, accounting for 30% of the country’s total export turnover, followed by China and the EU.
However, PwC believes that the nation’s short-term economic outlook remains positive, with this year’s GDP growth of over 5% forecast by Fitch, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
