The bank said that growth in the July-September quarter at 7.31% is likely to carry over to the final four months of the year.
The growth projection for 2020 was also upgraded by 0.1 percentage point to 6.8%, as announced by ADB in its supplement to September’s Asian Development Outlook Update.
Vietnam’s upward revisions are in contrast with downgrades for developing Asia, whose forecasts for 2019 and 2020 have both dropped to 5.2% from previous estimates of 5.4% and 5.5%, respectively, as the challenging global environment weighs on regional growth.
In a report to the National Assembly in October, the government expected Vietnam’s economy to grow by 6.8% in 2019.
Vietnam’s economy in the first three quarters of 2019 picked up to nearly 7%, the highest rate for the same period in the past nine years.
The growth was driven by private consumption and investment, which was bolstered by an improved business environment, continued investor confidence and increased foreign direct investment.
