Experts at the seminar. Photo mekongasean.vn

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam will remain an important link in global supply chains and a destination favoured by many businesses, said Tim Leelahaphan, Standard Chartered's economist for Thailand and Việt Nam, on Tuesday.

Speaking at a seminar titled “Global Economic and Financial Outlook Update: Implications for Việt Nam” held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the British bank, he said that Việt Nam’s GDP growth rate may hit 7.2 per cent this year and 6.7 per cent in 2024.

The country's economy still faces some macro risks such as inflation, public debt, and confidence recovery in the first half of 2023, but the recovery outlook is positive in the second half, he predicted.

Tim said Việt Nam’s inflation in 2023 would be about 6 per cent. The trade balance could be improved, but exports will face global challenges.

Explaining more about the positive and optimistic view on Việt Nam’s economy, he said that in 2022, the world faced many uncertainties such as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but the country still saw strong growth. However, this year will require more caution.

In 2022, the State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV) focused mainly on maintaining stability. This year, the SBV will switch to promote economic development. There have been messages about banks reducing interest rates and disbursing funds to the infrastructure sector. Therefore, they made conservative forecasts in the first half, but more optimistic ones in the second half of 2023.

Michele Wee, Chief Executive Officer at Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam Ltd, said that Việt Nam has medium- and long-term development outlooks, which helps increase growth potential and attract investment.

“Việt Nam with its bright outlook in the medium and long term, is a key growth market for Standard Chartered. The country has an abundance of opportunities to thrive and we are fully committed to supporting Việt Nam’s sustainable growth through a robust and sound long-term strategy. Our desire to be a catalyst for socio-economic development sits at the heart of our business strategy and is reflected in our brand promise, to be here for good,” she added.

Ambassador Giorgio Aliberti, Head of the European Union Delegation to Việt Nam, and many economists attending the seminar agreed that Việt Nam should promote green trade and provide comprehensive support for sustainability goals in the context that accelerating the implementation of commitments to digital transformation and green transformation associated with environmental criteria is a mandatory trend for almost all countries.

They proposed that Vietnamese enterprises take appropriate preparations to catch up with this inevitable trend by innovating their way of thinking, changing governance methods, and building a green export strategy.

Speaking at the event, Assistant to Foreign Minister Nguyễn Minh Hằng stressed that the promotion of international cooperation to take advantage of the collaboration and support of international partners for socio-economic recovery measures, and for boosting new growth drivers such as green growth and digital transformation is very important to Việt Nam.

Discussing opportunities and challenges for Việt Nam's growth and macro stability and solutions to boost growth drivers, Leelahaphan said the country needs to promote green trade and comprehensively support sustainability goals in the context of accelerating the implementation of commitments to promote digital transformation, green transformation associated with environmental criteria which is a mandatory trend for most countries.

Therefore, Vietnamese enterprises need to take appropriate preparation steps to catch up with this inevitable trend such as renovating thinking, changing management methods and building green export strategies, he added.

On the side of domestic experts, Nguyễn Văn Nam, former director of the Institute of Trade Studies under the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that in order to assess the economic situation in Việt Nam, both opportunities and challenges must be recognised.

Việt Nam has gone through a development phase and is striving from a middle-income country to a high-income country. To enter this stage, it is not possible to continue using the old policies. The country needs changes, even a breakthrough in policies to bring Việt Nam's economy to succeed in the future.

The seminar attracted more than 150 participants from State agencies, localities, ambassadors, local and foreign firms as well as senior experts from Standard Chartered Bank. — VNS