Viet Nam’s Economy to Remain One of the Fastest Growing in Asia Despite Sharp Slowdown Due to COVID-19
Viet Nam’s economic growth rate is expected to slow sharply in 2020, to 4.8%, from the initial supply shock to economic activity from the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and the subsequent and ongoing drop in demand from Viet Nam’s principal trade and investment partners, says a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report released today.
Economic growth decelerated to 3.8% in the first quarter of 2020, from 6.8% in the corresponding period in 2019. Travel and other restrictions imposed by the government to slow the spread of the virus led to lower domestic consumption. Manufacturing managed to weather the headwinds early on but the inventory of inputs, including those part of global value chains, are being depleted. Growth in agriculture stagnated because of lower demand for agricultural exports and severe salinity intrusion in the Mekong Delta. Growth in services, the sector hardest hit by the pandemic, was halved to 3.2% in the first quarter of 2020, down from 6.5% in the corresponding period in 2019.
