IMF sees Vietnam’s growth at 3.8% in 2021

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that Vietnam’s economy will expand by 3.8% this year, a higher rate than that of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines or Thailand.

Vietnam's economy is forecast by the IMF to grow by 3.8% in 2021.
Vietnam's economy is forecast by the IMF to grow by 3.8% in 2021.

In ASEAN, Singapore will be the best performing economy, projected to grow by 6% in 2021, according to the recently released World Economic Outlook report.

Growth in Asia is expected to reach 6.5%, with China’s GDP expanding by 8%, compared to a contraction of 2.3% in 2020.

The four economies of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, which shrank last year, are forecast to rebound this year but all with figures under 3.5%.

According to the IMF, disrupted supply chains and price pressures are restraining the recovery momentum. As such, global growth has been revised down to 5.9%, down slightly from the previous estimate of 6%.

The organisation added that the labour market remains weak compared to the pre-pandemic period, with emerging and developing economies hit harder than developed economies.