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.

More than 100 global organisations want debt payments to be waived for developing countries this year.

While Vietnam remains significantly exposed to the COVID-19 outbreak and the ongoing turbulence in the global financial markets, its economy stays resilient to external shocks in the first few months of 2020, according to the World Bank (WB).

A slew of sizeable liquefied natural gas-fired power projects have been in the development pipeline in the past year as a way to replenish national power sources as Vietnam turns on a greener growth path.

The move comes after world governments and central banks have taken action to ease the outbreak's impact.

The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho seeks to borrow US$25 million from the World Bank to expand its local water supply network in the 2025-30 period under a proposed water project to be funded by the bank.

The organisation said it would prioritise the poorest countries in their response to the crisis.

An ADB expert's projection that Vietnam will need to invest US$110 billion in infrastructure development between 2021 and 2025 has led PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc to order relevant ministries to look into it in earnest.

Officials of the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho had a working session with World Bank (WB) representatives on March 2 to discuss a water supply project for the region.

Saying that ‘the sun is still shining above the Vietnamese sky’, the World Bank has also noted that the country should not ignore risks that could occur during bad times.

Amid the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Vietnam is boosting efforts and policy reforms to build up a digital economy. 

The World Bank (WB)’s new approaches to bidding and deployment for solar projects will help Vietnam substantially boost and effectively manage its abundant solar energy resources.

A draft decree on ODA is expected to address pending issues and obstacles existed in the current regulations.

International media outlets have highlighted Vietnam’s thriving economy which is among the fastest-growing in Southeast Asia in 2019 amid the global economic slowdown.

JLL observes that there are hundreds of million dollars waiting to be poured into the market in most segments of real estate.

Developing quality connective infrastructure and logistics is crucial to lower trade costs and boost Vietnam’s further integration in both global and domestic markets.

Mr. Ousmane Dione, World Bank Country Director for Vietnam, discusses the growth in Vietnam's economy in 2019 and the prospects for 2020.

In 2020, the country’s domestic demand is set to benefit from generally supportive financial conditions amid low inflation and robust capital flows.

Investors will enjoy more favourable conditions with regards to starting a business, tax, credit access, and investment protection in 2020 buoyed by the Vietnamese government’s latest action plans.

With the market warming up at the end of last year, the number of real estate deals has also been on the rise thanks to soaring remittances.