Vietnam's worst economic contraction is easing, 8% growth forecast for 2022

HO CHI MINH CITY -- Tough restrictions to curb COVID-19 infections in Vietnam resulted in Q3 GDP growth contracting sharply by 6.17% y/y, affecting all aspects of the economy.

As a result, ANZ Bank has revised downwards its ful- year 2021 GDP growth forecast to 1.4%, from 3.6% previously.

"The worst appears to have passed," an ANZ reserch report says. "The pandemic wave is easing, while the vaccination rate is rising. High frequency data show a recovery off the lows of September."

ANZ says it expects the growth recovery to be gradual in the near-term, but it should accelerate over the course of next year. "We forecast a rebound in GDP growth to 8.0% in 2022," the report says.

www.anzresearch.com (ATI).