Presentation of the Quarterly Macro-Economic Report 3/2019

The Quarterly Economic Report 3/2019, an independent assessment of Vietnam’s macro-economic performance, was released yesterday by the Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR) with the support of KAS Vietnam. 50 reporters of local newspapers and televisions were attending the launching workshop. In the first part of the workshop, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham The Anh, chief economist of VEPR, presented the report highlighting the growth rate of 7.31 % in the 3rd quarter despite the slowing down growth rates in many countries. FDI enterprises remain the main contributors to the growth. It’s noticeable that there were 35,316 newly registered enterprises in Q3, a year-over-year increase of 37%, while the number of businesses suspending operation decreased remarkably. Further, Dr. Le Dang Doanh, former President of the Central Institute of Economic Management, Dr. Can Van Luc, chief economist of Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quoc Bao, University of Economics in Ho Chi Minh City commented on the report. Dr. Doanh suggested that the report should also include analyses of the health of Vietnam’s banking system, measures to promote SOE equitisation, public investment and digital economics. The VEPR was also recommended to clarify the motivation of the country’s economic growth in the context of low public investment, low credit growth, the slow down of the world economy. In the second part of the event, the participants had the opportunity to interview the commentators.