The Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR) estimated local GDP growth for this year at between 2.6 per cent and 2.8 per cent at a workshop yesterday in Hanoi, lower than the 3.8 per cent it forecast in July.

In order to attract high-quality FDI capital from the US, Vietnam needs to commit to strong reform, analysts say.

ASEAN and all member states must collaborate to establish a better tax policy system to build sustainability and resilience across the region, found a report launched on Thursday in Ha Noi.

Vietnam should take stronger measures related to origin of goods and products to avoid risks of lawsuits or being taken advantage of by other countries to evade US import tariffs.

Such increases have created a burden on the citizens, while multinationals are taking advantage of Vietnam’s incentive policies to avoid taxes.

A low GDP growth rate is unavoidable in 2020 as the economy has been seriously affected by Covid-19.

The digital and platform economies would become pillars of our future society,

People who have idle money are engaging in property speculation, but at the same time many producers seriously lack money, according to Pham The Anh from the Hanoi Economics University.

Building a transparent legal framework; improving business climate; adopting flexible policies on imports, exports and foreign exchange rates; protecting environment will be needed to achieve economic growth target of 6.8%.

Vietnam needs a “revolution in its policy-making mind-set” before it can take advantage of the fourth industrial revolution, said Pham Xuan Hoe from the Banking Strategy Institute, at a forum in Hanoi on January 7.

Vietnam has the potential to become a leader in tax reform, said Johan Langerock, tax policy expert of Oxfam at the Vietnam Fiscal Policy and Development Forum 2019, which opened in Hanoi on November 13.

Increasing exports to the US, Vietnam is a step closer to the risk of alleged monetary manipulation as US President Trump tries to reach a trade agreement with China at a negotiation round this October.

The growth forecast for Vietnam’s economy in 2019 has been upgraded to 6.96% from an earlier estimate of 6.56-6.81% by the Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR).

As many as 85 percent of industrial enterprises in Vietnam still lag behind the fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0), and only 13 per cent are at the beginner level, one official has warned.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam exports laborers to help youth get a good job and to improve the professional qualifications of Vietnamese workers. 

VietNamNet Bridge - The government still insists on a 6.7 percent GDP growth rate target this year, though economists warn it will be out of reach.

Nguyen Duc Thanh from VEPR believes that Vietnam’s agriculture is suffering from so-called Dutch disease. It is still fumbling for ways to develop, though it leads the world in the output of some products. 

The economists from VEPR (the Vietnam Centre for Economic and Policy Research) believe that even if the dollar interest rate decreases to a very low level, businesses would still prefer borrowing dong.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Last year’s budget deficit reached an estimated 7% of nominal gross domestic product (GDP), the highest level since 2000, the Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR) said in a quarter-four report.