Vietnam’s economic growth to double global rate: IMF

Vietnam has maintained economic stability and a positive growth rate despite global economic fluctuations, risks, and the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgieva said during a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hiroshima, Japan on the occasion of their attendance at an expanded summit of the Group of Seven (G7) countries.

She highly spoke of Vietnam’s socio-economic management policies, adding that the government’s active, flexible, prompt, and effective monetary policies have helped the country maintain its growth rate despite challenges.

The IMF will provide consultancy on interest rates and monetary policies to improve Vietnam’s capacity to respond to crises, Georgieva added.

For his part, PM Chinh thanked the IMF for its support and consultancy, which have helped Vietnam come up with policies appropriate to the global trends and access investment funds.

He expressed his hope that the two sides will boost their cooperation in a more effective manner amid fluctuations.

The prime minister suggested the IMF continue providing policy consultancy regarding economic management and improvement of fiscal, monetary, and financial restructuring tools and policies to Vietnam.

The two sides also discussed frankly issues of mutual interest and raised new concerns amid ongoing global economic challenges.

Last month, the IMF forecast that Vietnam's gross domestic product may grow 5.8 percent this year to become the second-fastest growing economy in Southeast Asia, only after the Philippines.

The organization also projected that Vietnam's economy would expand 6.9 percent next year, taking the lead in the region, the Vietnam Government Portal reported, citing the IMF’s world economic outlook report.

Meanwhile, the global economy may expand 2.9 percent this year, down 0.5 percentage points from last year, the IMF forecast in February.

PM Chinh on Saturday also met with secretary general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Mathias Cormann, who pledged to support Vietnam in the application of the global minimum corporate tax.

The Vietnamese official suggested both sides continue promoting cooperation, firstly in preparing for a ministerial conference on the OECD Southeast Asia Regional Program this year.

He stressed that Vietnam is a developing country, so its resistance to external factors is weak.

Therefore, the Vietnamese government leader expected OECD to support the country in the application of the global minimum corporate tax, energy security, climate change, knowledge-based economy, and circular economy.

In response, OECD secretary general Cormann promised to boost the cooperation with Vietnam and support the country's economic recovery and development, especially in sectors of Vietnam's interest, such as building investment policies aligned with the global minimum corporate tax, green economy, and circular economy.

He also expressed his hope that Vietnam will join the Inclusive Forum on Carbon Mitigation Approaches to contribute to developing a comprehensive approach to carbon reduction at the global level.

The global minimum corporate tax of 15 percent will be imposed on multinational corporations with annual revenue of at least 750 million euros (US$811.6 million) each, starting from 2024.

As many as 142 countries and territories have signed up to implement the tax, including Vietnam.

It is estimated that 1,015 FDI companies in Vietnam will be affected by the tax, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

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