Vietnam's economy is expected to grow more than 7 percent this year, backed by robust exports, domestic consumption and strong foreign investment, the Asian Development Bank said. The Southeast Asian economy grew 6.81 percent last year, the fastest in a decade. The government said this week that growth in the first quarter was 7.38 percent.
Inflation is projected to remain at around 3.5 percent this year, with the impact of strong domestic demand and bank lending seen offset by relatively stable food and transportation costs, the ADB said in a statement on Friday. "It is important to continue structural reforms to improve productivity and economic competitiveness," ADB President Takehiko Nakao told Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on the sidelines of a Greater Mekong Subregion meeting in Hanoi, according to the statement.
"The banking system needs to be strengthened by resolving non-performing loans and tightening supervision," he said. "The program to divest state-owned enterprises should be accelerated, and their corporate governance strengthened." ADB is among the largest providers of development assistance to Vietnam. The ADB has extended $15.4 billion in loans, $310.6 million in technical assistance and $329.5 million in grants to the country since 1993.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.