Farm produce from the northern region is introduced at a fair in HCM City yesterday. The fair aims to boost consumption of produce made by co-operatives in northern localities and the Mekong Delta province of Đồng Tháp. VNA/VNS Photo Xuân Anh

HÀ NỘI – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) kept its growth projections for Việt Nam at 6.8 per cent for 2019 and 6.7 per cent for 2020 in a report released on Thursday.
The predictions in the Asian Development Outlook Supplement are unchanged from the forecasts made in the April report.
In the latest version, the ADB said Việt Nam has been the fastest-growing economy in Southeast Asia this year, noting growth in the first half of 2019 is estimated at 6.8 per cent year-on-year despite agriculture being harmed by drought and African swine fever. 
Growth in industry and manufacturing remained robust, though not as strong as in the first half of 2018. 
Strong inflows of foreign direct investment, up by 27 per cent in the first five months of 2019 from a year earlier, sustained growth. China overtook the Republic of Korea and Singapore to become the largest overseas provider of newly registered capital.

Meanwhile, the US remained the largest export market for Việt Nam, with exports growing by 28 per cent in the first five months over the same period last year. 
According to the ADB, Việt Nam’s inflation will be 3.5 per cent in 2019 and 3.8 per cent in 2020. — VNS