When asked what Vietnam should do in the event of a global economic recession triggered by the US financial crisis, Dr Vo Tri Thanh, Director of the Department for International Integration Studies under the Central Institute of Economic Management (CIEM), said that Vietnam needs to stabilise the macroeconomy and keep confident.

The government of Vietnam on September 3 and 4 held a regular meeting, reaffirming that Vietnam will likely maintain the GDP growth rate at 6.7 per cent-7 per cent and curb inflation to 25 per cent this year.

Vietnam is forecast to attract a total foreign direct investment capital of some US$55 billion-US$60 billion this year, tripling the figure of 2007, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) said.

During an online interview on the Government’s website, central bank Governor Nguyen Van Giau re-affirmed the capability of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to effectively stabilise the foreign exchange (FX) market whenever the market showed an unbalanced supply-demand ratio due to sentiment and speculation.

The trade deficit has been decreasing considerably for the last two months as a result of measures to reduce consumption, tighten public expenses and control foreign currencies for import. However, curbing the trade gap at below $20bil in 2008 remains a big challenge.

One and a half years after joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO), everything seems to have gone well, but strong fluctuations in the market are against all expectations. Leading economists give an in-depth analysis of what Vietnam has gained and lost over the past 18 months.

Vietnam’s economy is growing at the slowest pace in at least seven years, as slumping stock and property markets have pushed construction companies to halt projects amid the fastest inflation in a decade and a half. (Read more...)

Interest rates and foreign-currency exchange-rate concerns in the market have been eased thanks to a series of measures taken by the State Bank of Viet Nam to stabilise the country’s monetary market. (Read more...)

Tightened monetary policies influenced the operations of commercial banks and businesses. This was the most prominent aspect of the national economy in the first half of the year. (Read more...)

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, who is on a four-day visit to the US, had a 45-minute talks with former US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on June 23 (Vietnam time). Greenspan, who is called “monetary magician,” gave useful advices to Vietnam. (Read more...)