WB: Vietnam Economy Grows Only 5.2 Percent
Vietnam’s economic growth will slow to 5.2 percent in 2012 as a result of the Government’s efforts to curb inflation, according to the updated World Bank (WB) economic report on East Asia and the Pacific.
This figure is down from the 5.7 percent forecast at the mid-year Consultative Group meeting in May. The lender also predicted that the Vietnamese economy will pick up and reach 5.7 percent growth in 2013.
In 2011, the Vietnamese economy expanded by 5.9 percent.
The Asian Development Bank also cut its 2012 growth forecast for Vietnam last week from 5.7 percent to 5.1 percent amid the gloomy global economic outlook and domestic vulnerabilities.
The WB says that investment growth in Vietnam has slowed down considerably as the country had been focused on fighting inflation over the past year.
The report also noted that while most economies in the region saw a drop in exports, Vietnam and China experienced the reverse with exports rising sharply.
According to the General Statistics Office, Vietnam’s aggregate exports in the first three quarters ending in September totalled US$83.8 billion, up 18.9 percent compared to the same period last year.
However, despite the encouraging export figures, the Vietnamese economy is still facing several problems in contrast with most East Asian economies, such as a high rate of non-performing loans, the report added.
Nhan Dan
Vietnamese
