Catfish processing for export.

The US-based Fibre2Fashion portal has recently run an article highlighting several foreign financial organisations’ relatively positive predictions for Vietnam’s economy, saying that its growth is expected at 6.5-6.7 percent in 2022.

The article wrote that Standards Chartered Bank recently forecast that the Southeast Asian nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth will be 6.7 percent this year and 7 percent in 2023.

Fibre2Fashion quoted Tim Leelahaphan, economist for Thailand and Vietnam at Standard Chartered, as saying that the Vietnamese economy should continue to bounce back in 2022 as the pandemic improves.

The expert also noted that COVID-19 remains a key risk, at least in the short term. Therefore, the first quarter could see a full resumption of factory operations, after closures in the third quarter of 2021, and government stimulus; and clearer recovery is expected in March, the article wrote.

It also cited economists at Standard Chartered as saying that a continued improvement in the global trade environment will support exports in 2022 although import growth is likely to remain high.

In its recent ‘Vietnam at a glance’ report, the HSBC said after two years of growth slowdown, the country’s economic growth will accelerate to reach 6.5 percent in 2022. The government also targeted this year’s GDP expansion at 6.5-7 percent, equivalent to pre-pandemic levels, it said.

It noted Vietnam has recovered steadily after hitting bottom in 2021 and that it will regain growth momentum in all aspects soon.

The HSBC noted the biggest obstacle needing attention now is the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, but it is encouraging that vaccination has been much improved, enough for avoiding another period of widespread social distancing, said the Fibre2Fashion article./.