Vietnam and Southeast Asia able to maintain economic stability
VOV.VN - The nation and the Southeast Asian region as a whole have made every effort to maintain economic stability and growth, despite enduring the impact of COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to experts.
Amid global disruption caused by China’s border closure as it continues to pursue a “Zero-COVID” policy, many semi-conductor producers have started the process of switching their operations to Southeast Asia in a bid to ease shortages.
Last year saw chip producer GlobalFoundries announce an investment of around US$4 billion in a Singapore-based factory, while Intel outlined its plans to pour more than US$7 billion into a chip factory in Penang, Malaysia.
Foxconn Technology Group of Taiwan (China), a supplier of Apple, is in the process of building a US$270 million factory in order to manufacture and process laptops and tablets near Hanoi.
With global supply chain adjustments being made, the nation boasts several advantages after tapping into opportunities from the supply chain shift. In 2020, the country received a significant portion of the investment shift wave from China. Furthermore, 2021 saw FDI inflows into the nation reach US$31.15 billion, up 9.2% compared to 2020, despite being hard hit by the impact of COVID-19.
Rajiv Biswas, executive director and chief economist for Asia-Pacific of S&P Global, said that Southeast Asia represents an important part of the global manufacturing supply chain, especially in relation to the electronics industry. Due to supply chain disruptions and severe delivery delays to key components in the global electronics industry during the pandemic, electronics companies are increasingly seeking to diversify their supply chains to Southeast Asia.
Mick Aw, senior adviser at Moore Stephens, said that Southeast Asian countries are increasingly playing a more crucial role in the global supply chain as businesses start to move away from China after the pandemic.
In terms of Vietnam, the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) gave two scenarios for economic growth this year. In the brighter scenario, CIEM forecast that Vietnamese economic growth in 2022 can reach 6.9%, relatively high compared to the base scenario of 6.7%. With this scenario, the growth rate for the year will be close to the 7% target the Government has set.
Regarding solutions for the final six months of the year, Tran Thi Hong Minh, director of the CIEM, said that the institute has proposed speeding up reforms, even in the context of economic recovery, with the ultimate aim of reducing pressure on inflation and creating new space for businesses to further develop.