According to previous estimates, the Vietnamese economy is expected to grow by 6.5% in 2023 and accelerate in 2024. However, the economy faced a great deal of challenges in the first half of 2023, with lower-than-expected growth, heaping more pressure on efforts to realise the full-year target. Economists have warned that Vietnam is not facing a short-term shock but internal and external difficulties that may continue to affect the economy in the years to come.

A corner of Ho Chi Minh City.

Reports by many ministries and agencies also show that the Vietnamese economy is facing more and more challenges, raising pressure on macroeconomic management. The volume of tasks that needs dealing with is becoming heavier when the authorities have to address both the weaknesses that have existed and remained unresolved for years and the issues that arise unexpectedly.

Furthermore, the risks in 2024 will not only come from global economic crisis or rising bankruptcies or increasing bad debt, but also from the ineffective implementation of economic reform measures.

In addition, bottlenecks such as power shortage is affecting enterprises’ business and production activities as well as the people’s lives, while reforms to improve the business climate and enhance national competitiveness have also stalled and could hinder economic recovery, which is already facing tough challenges.

It is worth noting that during this time, enterprises will look at macroeconomic signals to make their business decisions for the next year. In this context, the socio-economic development plan for 2024 must be formulated on the basis of complete and accurate assessment of the socio-economic development performance in the first half of 2023 and projections for the remainder of the year.

2024 will be the breakthrough year to complete the 2021-2025 five-year plan in the context that the economy has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. The goals, orientations, and measures must be bolder and more effective, feasible, and suitable with the implementation capacity of ministries and localities. It is also necessary to mobilise and use resources effectively to overcome the difficulties and create substantive changes.

Government urged to apply more remedies to support businesses

The National Assembly has asked the government to use more remedies to assist production and business activities, which are facing major challenges including a decrease in demand for exports.

Vietnam shows significant improvement in business environment: EIU

Vietnam jumped 12 places in the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)’s latest business environment rankings which measure the attractiveness of doing business in 82 countries with 91 crucial indicators.

Efforts to improve investment and business environment

The Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) 2022 is the recognition of the business community on the innovation and creativity efforts of local authorities over the past year. While Bac Giang, a province in the northern midland region, made great progress, ranking second, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City downgraded compared to the results in 2021. This reflects fierce competition in development, forcing localities to thoroughly grasp their strengths and weaknesses to make changes to avoid lagging.

FDI business: Industrial production locomotive

(BGO) – Bac Giang province now has 8 industrial parks (IP) which have attracted 453 projects, including 350 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with total registered capital of over 8.2 billion USD. Amid many difficulties, the FDI enterprises in the IP maintain stable production and business activities, ensure good policies and rights for labours. 

Prime Minister receives Belgian diplomat, business leader

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosted a reception for Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam Karl Van Den Bossche and Francois Michel, CEO of John Cockerill Group - a mechanical engineering firm of Belgium, in Hanoi on May 17.

Source: NDO