Vietnam’s economy shows slow, steady recovery in first half

HANOI - The Vietnamese economy continues to improve, with economic indicators for the second quarter showing a slow and steady improvement in domestic consumption - and the external sector remaining strong. Industrial production growth rose faster in Q2, despite anti-China protests.

ANZ Bank comments that the first half of 2014 saw Vietnam surviving weak domestic demand, benefitting from a robust external sector. “We expect this dynamic to remain in play over the next three to four years as the Vietnamese economy moves through a slow but manageable deleveraging dynamic.”

ANZ reiterates its GDP growth forecast of 5.6% and 5.8% in 2014 and 2015 respectively, on the back of slow and steady progress. “The downward risks to inflation remain and we revise our 2014 and 2015 inflation forecasts to 5.0-5.5% and 6.0-6.5% respectively.” www.live.anz.com (ATI).