Oct. 3 – Following an accelerated third quarter, the International Monetary Fund said its latest growth estimate for Vietnam may be revised upward.
Vietnam’s gross domestic product expanded 5.8 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, up from 4.5 percent in the previous three months, according to figures this week from the General Statistics Office in Hanoi. The government is targeting growth of at least 5 percent this year.
The IMF increased its growth forecast to 4.6 percent after the country’s growth reached that amount in the first nine months of the year. Previously, the IMF had estimated Vietnam’s 2009 growth at 3.5 percent.
The organizations growth estimate may still be revised upward as the current growth estimate does not include the third quarter growth numbers.
Vietnam put in place a fiscal stimulus package valued around 8.6 percent of GDP in a bid to boost the economy, which grew 3.1 percent in the first quarter, the slowest pace on record. Measures included tax exemptions, reductions and deferments for businesses, and an interest-rate subsidy program.
