In an interview granted for the Vietnam News Agency during the week of Spring Meetings of the IMF and the WB in Washington DC, Leigh said theIMF have just revised up the growth forecast for Vietnam, adding that this is partly due to the rebound from COVID-19 and trade diversion. Some of the investment is shifting to Vietnam, giving the country a lift, said the expert.
Although the IMF expected a slowdown in Vietnam’s growth, the projected rate is still high, at 5.8% in 2023 and 6.9% in 2024, he said.
He also noted that inflation in Vietnam is relatively low, at over 3% in 2022. It is coming up – partly because of the dynamic economy – and is expected to be back to the world inflation target, at around 4.3% in 2024.
For Vietnam to continue to grow strongly in the remaining quarters of this year and the next five years, Leigh recommended that the country's monetary policy continue to focus on bringing down inflation as it happens, and fiscal policy continue giving the targeted support to the vulnerable households.
Regarding financial stability, a priority should be given to helping stabilise the real estate and corporate bond markets with specific tools, but this should not distract from the overall move toward inflation stability, he suggested.
