The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to take its continued toll on the global economy in the second half of the year, but thanks to the disease brought under control in Vietnam, the national economy is projected to grow by 3.8% in 2020.

The information was unveiled in a report released by the Vietnam Institute for Economics and Policy Research at a workshop in Hanoi on July 21. 

The report details how retail sales of goods and services prospered around the beginning of the second quarter of the year following the lifting of social distancing and the Prime Minister’s decree on domestic tourism promotion. 

Efforts to remove the bottleneck in public investment disbursement and stimulate growth have significantly contributed to raising total social investment capital to VND481.2 trillion, representing a boost of 4% on-year. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a blow to the national economy, slowing its GDP growth to just 1.81%, the lowest rate over the past decade. However, economic expert Nguyen Tri Hieu said the figure is rather positive, making it possible for the economy to get back on track in the second half of the year.

Taking into account the complex nature of the pandemic and its impact globally, the report forecasts that Vietnam’s GDP for the entire year would grow by 3.8%. 

Nguyen Duc Thanh, chief advisor of the Vietnam Institute for Economics and Policy Research, said the fulfillment of the growth target will largely rely on the ability to successfully contain the pandemic both domestically and globally. 

“Without unfavourable developments, we are likely to achieve the 3.8% growth target for this year, and vice versa the national economy is projected to grow by just 2%. But such a growth is a positive sign,” said Thanh.