ADB raises growth forecast for Vietnam to 6.2% this year

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has revised its economic growth forecast for developing Asia slightly up thanks to stronger domestic demand and export growth.

In the latest edition of Asian Development Outlook, which was released on July 17, the financial institution projected Vietnam’s economic growth at 6.2%, higher than the projection of 6% the bank made in April.

Growth in developing Asia and the Pacific is expected to be 5.0% this year, the ADB said, higher than the previous forecast of 4.9%. The region grew by 5.1% in 2023. The report noted that stronger domestic demand and exports, particularly electronic products, has become the driving force behind the region's rapid growth.

However, ADB still maintained its growth forecast of 4.9% for the Asian region in 2025, due to concerns about the impact of changes in the world, including uncertainty relating to election outcomes in major economies and geopolitical tensions.

The bank raised its economic growth forecast for the East Asia region in 2024 to 4.6%, compared to the previous projection of 4.5%, driven by a surge in exports of semiconductors and other electronic products thanks to the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.

The Southeast Asia region is projected to grow by 4.6% this year and 4.7% next year.

The ADB kept its 2024 and 2025 growth forecasts for China at 4.8% and 4.5% respectively, but noted a risk that a property slump there could deepen and lead to weaker growth prospects.

Official data released by National Bureau of Statistics of China on July 15 showed that the country's economy grew 4.7% in April-June from a year earlier, its slowest since the first quarter of 2023.

The ADB expects regional inflation to slow to 2.9% in 2024 from 3.3% last year, before nudging up to 3.0% in 2025.