Economists said only 13 out of 101 middle-income countries in the 60s managed to break through the middle-income trap by the end of 2008,...

The production and business sectors, the pillar of the economy, cannot escape the burden of borrowing costs either.

The recent stories about energy supply have once again exposed problems in Vietnam’s management thinking.

Increases in domestic consumption, production, and foreign direct investment are set to enable the economy to achieve its growth target this year.

State management needs to be kept separate from non-business public units.

Further VAT cuts have been proposed; commercial banks began easing lending interest rates; and Vietnam’s rice is being exported to Europe at high prices. These were the noteworthy business stories last week.

The European Chamber of Commerce Vietnam (EuroCham) hosted a business-to-government dialogue forum on February 16 in Hanoi as part of efforts launch its 2023 Whitebook, with the theme of “Working Toward a Green Economy and Sustainable Development”.

With domestic production decreasing, the government is fueling businesses’ performance with new policies with a view to hitting its desired economic growth.

Improvement of the business environment has been slow. Analysts note that the state’s intervention in the market is on the rise.

Local businesses have increasingly promoted multi-channel selling to boost revenues, particularly by combining digital and conventional operations.

Despite difficulties in 2022, many enterprises, especially in banking, fertilizer manufacturing and transport, reported good business results in 2022 and are paying high dividends.

Investment management firm VinaCapital said it expects Vietnam’s economy and stock market to “normalise” this year after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) will collaborate with relevant agencies in carrying out measures to help enterprises expand their shares in foreign markets, said Vu Ba Phu, head of the agency.

Geopolitics and new technologies are changing the world, opening up new opportunities for Vietnam to develop, if it can grasp them.

Vietnam’s economy still relies heavily on the agro-forestry-fishery sector, as the trade surplus of this group accounted for over 75% of the national figure in 2022.

Some 43,900 businesses have withdrawn from the local market in the year to date, up 14.4% year-on-year, according to the Agency for Business Registration under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has set a target of an average industrial value-added growth rate of over 8.5% per year, with the proportion of the manufacturing industry as part of GDP reaching about 30% by 2030.

The Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment has sketched out two scenarios for the Vietnamese economy in 2023.

Vietnam is becoming a destination for global manufacturers, an opportunity that needs to be taken full advantage of.

With certain headwinds predicted for the global economy in 2023, Vietnam too, faces considerable challenges. But opportunities are also significant if concerted and appropriate solutions are taken, an expert has said.