The Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR) has revised its 2017 growth forecast for Vietnam up to 6.64% in its latest report from its previous projection of 6.37%.

The seminar on Vietnam's economic performance.

VEPR Director Nguyen Duc Thanh said that growth in the fourth quarter could reach 7.12%, building on the strong growth in the previous three months, which the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported at 7.46%.

However, Thanh warned that inflation for the whole year is projected at 4.16%, exceeding the government’s targeted ceiling of 4%.

The report on Vietnam’s economic performance in the third quarter was released at a seminar that brought together a number of economic experts on October 11.

According to senior economist Nguyen Tri Hieu, Vietnam’s growth this year has a high probability of hitting 6.7% but noted that the government should have plans in place to deal with global uncertainties.

Associate Professor Pham The Anh from the National Economics University stated that strong economic expansion in the third quarter could ease the pressure on the government’s full-year growth target of 6.7%.

He expects that the government would pursue long-term policies instead of implementing short-term measures to boost growth.

Official data released by the GSO showed that Vietnam’s growth rate accelerated sharply in the July to September period, hitting 7.46%, much higher than the previous quarter as well as the same quarter in recent years.

The services sector increased by 7.25% in the first nine months of the year, while manufacturing continued to grow strongly, expanding by a record high of 12.77% in the last five years.

Meanwhile, headline inflation rose in August and September to 3.35% and 3.4% respectively due to higher food, electricity and healthcare service prices.

Nhan Dan