HANOI: Vietnam’s economic growth forecast raised 6.5percent in 2015 and 2016 in a report that revised its GDP growth forecast for Vietnam to 6.5 percent year-on-year for both 2015 and 2016, from 6.2 percent and and 6.4 percent, respectively.
The increase is attributed to a recovery of domestic demand pointed by various indicators, including the rise in industrial production and retail sales, according to a report issued by ANZ on Monday.
Industrial production posted the fastest annual gains since 2012. ANZ estimates industrial production growth of 14.2 percent year-on-year over the first two months of the year, up from 5.6 percent over the same period in 2014.
Retail sales see the fastest rise over the past 5 years, averaged at 13.7 percent in the first two months.
ANZ has also downwardly revised inflation forecasts to 2.6 percent in 2015 and 3.8 percent in 2016 from previously at 3 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively. “With a subdued inflation outlook, we see sufficient room for the central bank to further loosen monetary conditions in 2015 as growth is still below potential,” said ANZ Chief Asia-Pacific Economist Glenn Maguire.
Vietnam’s economic growth last year beat the government’s 5.8 percent target. The World Bank forecasts the country’s GDP growth at 5.6 percent in 2015.
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