The Nikkei manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rolled down from 51.5 in January to 50.3 in February. It is encouraging the number of new export orders to continue rising while recruitment demand maintains stable.
In 2015, the manufacturing sector gained a 10.6% growth and contributed 1.6% to the 6.7% growth of the gross domestic product (GDP). The British bank has forecast productivity to stabilise and increase by 10.7% in 2016.
After making a new record in 2015, the foreign direct investment (FDI) flow continues to pour into Vietnam in the first two months of the year. By the end of February, the registered capital was US$2.8 billion, a 135% year-on-year rise.
Local demand has been forecast to maintain stability thanks to personal consumption and low interest rates. The bank hoped that GDP will maintain last year’s growth rate, reaching 6.7% in 2016 and 6.8% in 2017.
HSBC also said that inflation may increase rapidly to 5.2% by the end of the year, hitting the Government’s target ceiling, hoping that the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) will take stricter measures in the second half of the year.
Accordingly, the market will see developments as forecast by the bank that interest rates will increase 50 first points in the third quarter of 2016. The SBV will apply administrative measures to ease lending activities, especially in real estate sector.
