Vietnam’s GDP growth is likely to expand by 5% in the second quarter, and 4% in 2023 before reaching 6% in 2024, Singapore-based Maybank Research Pte Ltd said in a report released on June 27.

Standard Chartered Bank forecasts Vietnam’s second quarter GDP growth to have slowed to 1.5% year-on-year (from 3.3% in the first quarter), posing downside risks to its 6.5% growth forecast for 2023. However, a rebound is expected in the second half of the year.

A recent article posted on portfolio-adviser.com, a news website based in the UK, has pointed out the frequent hope that Vietnam will be upgraded from its frontier-market status to the emerging market status.

Agriculture has long been the backbone of Vietnam’s economy for a number of comparative advantages, such as cultivated land, forest cover, sea territories, tropical climate, and available and cost effective labour, according to Surajit Rakshit, head of Global Trade and Receivables Finance, HSBC Vietnam.

Many reputable international organisations have shown their optimism about Vietnamese economic outlook, predicting that the country can complete its GDP growth target of 6.5% this year.

The State budget's revenues from export-import activities hit over VND152.94 trillion (US$6.5 billion) in the first five months of this year, making up 36% of the estimate, down 18% year on year, the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC) reported on June 7.

Vietnam remains an attractive market for retailers as local consumers remain optimistic about the economic challenges and are driving premium purchases.

VinaCapital, Vietnam’s most diversified asset manager, and A.P. Moller Capital, a global fund manager focused on high growth markets, have set up a joint platform to grow and scale investments in transportation and logistics infrastructure in Vietnam.

The engagement of the private sector in green and sustainable growth is crucial for Vietnam to complete its target of achieving net-zero emission and raising the green economy scale to US$300 billion in the total national GDP value in 2050, according to experts.

Standard Chartered Bank has lowered Vietnam’s 2023 GDP growth forecast to 6.5% from the previous 7.2% in its recent macro-economic updates about the country.