The joyful atmosphere on those days is a result of Vietnam’s successful navigation through the challenging year of 2023, marked with positive developments.

The tough year of 2023 is expected to be followed by positive signs of an economic recovery. Vicente Nguyen, CIO of AFC Vietnam Fund, talked with VietNamNet about economic prospects in 2024, and the advantages and problems in the economy.

Competent Vietnamese agencies are formulating additional breakthrough support policies aimed at luring strategic investors amid fierce competition in foreign investment attraction and the imposition of the 15% global minimum tax in 2024.

Manufacturers in key industries are grappling with rising costs and plummeting demand that is weakening manufacturing and export activities.

The government has proposed using more than VND63 trillion from contingency fund of the 2021-2025 public investment sourced from the 2022 increased budget revenue for development projects.

Inspired by recovering goods export activities since the remaining months of 2023, the Vietnamese government will expand markets to boost shipments this year and beyond.

VN not only relies on fiscal and monetary solutions to promote economic growth, but also creates new growth drivers from innovation, new economic models, business environment reform, economic restructuring and improving regional planning and linkage.

On January 16, the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) announced that it has unveiled its 15th annual Whitebook, offering insights into Vietnam's business policies from the European business community.

Despite lingering difficulties, businesses have recovered their confidence, the Private Economic Development Research Board under the PM’s Administrative Reform Advisory Council underlined in report on business situation in 2023 and outlook for 2024.

Signs of recovery of Vietnam’s and the world economies appeared in the last months of 2023.

The Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) has unveiled two economic scenarios for the nation this year.

With a positive economic outlook, the Ministry of Industry and Trade aims to increase exports by 6% in 2024, running a trade surplus for nine years in a row, estimated at 15 billion USD.

The Vietnamese economy is likely to expand by 6-6.5% in the base scenario, with even recovery recorded in all sectors of agriculture, industry, construction and services.

The forecast for 2024 indicates that consumer demand will continue to be a primary contributor to Vietnam's economic growth, in addition to the ripple effects of public investment and exports.

Experts believed that the world and domestic economic situation in 2024 will continue to have difficulties and challenges. In that context, Vietnamese enterprises need to proactively implement solutions to promote production and business.

Many international financial institutions have expressed their optimism about Vietnam’s GDP growth, and shared the view that it would reach at least 6% this year.

Vietnam’s per capita GDP in 2023 reached US$4,284, US$174 higher than in 2022 but still well below the 2025 target range of US$4,700-5,000, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Vietnam’s economy is on a firm recovery track, likely returning to its trend growth of 6 percent in 2024, noted HSBC in its recent report Viet Nam at a glance.

Vietnam put its 2023 foreign trade at over US$681 billion, 6.9% lower than in the previous year, according to the General Statistics Office.

Vietnam needs to pool all resources and bring into full play growth drivers in 2024 to meet the Government set target of achieving a GDP growth rate of 6-6.5%, said experts.