(Photo: vneconomy.vn)

Vietnam is expected to be one of the few countries in the world that can maintain strong economic growth in 2023, while others will continue to experience a serious slow down, said PwC in an update on Vietnam's economy in the first half of 2023.

In the first half of this year, Vietnam’s socio-economic development faced challenges and instabilities from the global economy, with a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of only 3.72% year-on-year. The country’s service sector recovered thanks to policies to stimulate domestic consumption and reopen its economy.

The stock market is also adversely affected by the government's policy on inflation control and the bleak international financial market after the bankruptcy of several banks. While the agro-forestry-fishery and services sectors recovered, industry and construction were hit hard by political turmoil around the world.

In the first half of 2023, Vietnam recorded a trade surplus of 12.1 million USD, but its total export value decreased by 12% compared to the same period last year. Except for agriculture, chemicals, paper products, and means of transport and components, most sectors saw their exports decrease by 10-20% over the same period. Vietnam’s exports slowed down due to the impact of falling consumption in the main export markets, with respective year-on-year decreases of 22%, 10%, 10%, and 9% in the export value to the US, the Republic of Korea, the EU, and ASEAN.

The US remained the biggest importer of Vietnam, accounting for 30% of the nation's total export turnover, followed by China and the EU.

However, PwC believes that Vietnam's short-term economic outlook remains positive, with a 5% GDP growth in 2023 as forecast by Fitch, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Asian Development Bank (ADB).