Vietnam targets an economic growth rate of 2% for this year in nornmal conditions and 2.5% if favorable factors emerge, according to Nguyen Chi Dung, minister of Planning and Investment.

The Vietnamese government remains steadfast in ensuring macro-economic stability and focusing on three major growth driving forces which are investment, export and domestic consumption, said Mr. Dung at a monthly government meeting on September 4. 

For 12 socio-economic development goals in 2020, seven are highly to be achieved and potentially exceed their set targets.

According to Mr. Dung, Vietnam would continue to pursue the dual target of containing the Covid-19 pandemic and grasping opportunities for the resumption of economic activities.

While the pandemic has caused severe impacts on various economic sectors, the economy has not fallen into a recession and kept maintained a positive growth momentum, Mr. Dung asserted, adding this is a positive situation given a bleak outlook for countries in the region and all over the world.

Meanwhile, Mr. Dung pointed to a number of shortcomings that have not been able to be fully addressed, including the low productivity and competitiveness of the economy, weak linkages between domestic and foreign-invested firms, and limited integration into regional and global value chains, among others.

Looking ahead, Mr. Dung expected negative impacts from the Covid-19 pandemic to persist for the whole 2021.

With growing global uncertainties, Vietnam’s major economic partners are predicted to take at least two to four years to return to their pre-Covid-19 levels. However, Vietnam’s GDP growth should rebound to around 6.7% in 2021, for which the government is set to continue to look for a rapid and sustainable economic growth rate, Mr. Dung suggested.

Mr. Dung’s GDP forecast for this year is not vastly different from that of World Bank in July with 2.8%, making Vietnam the fifth fastest-growing economy globally, while HSBC also expected the country to reach growth of 2.9%.