Since national reunification in 1975, Vietnam’s economy has grown from strength to strength. Senior economist Nguyen Mai writes about how the economy has developed in that time, with foreign direct investment serving as one of the key driving forces.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has upended economies worldwide, and Vietnam must take urgent measures to handle this period of instability.

Vietnam’s economy continues to obtain high growth rate, but Covid-19 has upset all the key tasks and goals of the government and local authorities at different levels.

Sticky projected prospects caused by the global health crisis among  Vietnam’s key trading partners are expected to hit the domestic economy this year with the manufacturing and processing sector, one of the key growth pillars, to be hit hardest.

If Covid-19 is contained by Q2, exports will bounce back and the 7-8 percent export growth rate in 2020 will be within reach.

Experts have applauded the measured taken by HCM City authorities on risk assessment and management, believing that this is the first important step to run the economy safely.

With decade-low first-quarter growth, the fast and furious spread of the coronavirus pandemic has prompted high-profile international organisations to revise down their forecasts on Vietnam’s 2020 economic growth.

Vietnam’s economic growth rate is expected to slow sharply to 4.8 per cent this year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, said a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report released on Thursday.

While tourism, transportation and F&B sectors are suffering heavily from Covid-19, the impact on other business fields has been less severe.

Vietnam jumped 23 places from last year to reach 58.8 points, ranking 105th place in the economic freedom index this year.

While the movement of reducing administrative procedures and simplifying business conditions in 2018 was described as a ‘big wave’, the activities were just ‘small ripples’ in 2019.

The COVID-19 epidemic has spread worldwide and affected every corner of the global economy. It is causing lost revenues, breaking supply chains, and slashing billions of dollars from the global GDP.

The coronavirus epidemic has caused a shock to global tourism, seriously affecting hotels and resorts.

The Vietnamese GDP will sustain the ninth-largest impact from the COVID-19 among developing countries in Asia, according to the ADB.

Analysts say banking will be one of a few sectors to benefit from Covid-19 as the central bank may loosen the monetary policy to support the economy in crisis.

Businesses in logistics and agricultural processing are embracing ambitious expansion plans to effectively cash in on opportunities from the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

PhD Phung Van Hung, a permanent member of the National Economic Commission talks about the significance of the non-observe economy in the Vietnam's GDP.

Fitch Solutions has revised down its 2020 real GDP growth forecast for Vietnam to 6.3 percent, from 6.8 percent previously, in light of the worsening global COVID-19 outbreak.

HCM City plans to draw up specific policies for firms having capital of more than VND100 billion (US$4.3 million) in the first quarter of this year, and has committed to create more favourable conditions for enterprises.

Most businesses are not setting high business targets this year because of uncertainties and the unpredictable Covid-2019 epidemic.