Standard Chartered Bank has predicted that Vietnam’s GDP will grow by 4.2 percent this year due to a slump in exports.

“The global economic slowdown and the sharp correction in commodity prices over the past six months will likely suppress Vietnam’s export performance for much of 2009,” said Tai Hui, Southeast Asian Region Head of Research of Standard Chartered.

According to him, foreign direct investment and remittance flows are slowing amid the global recession, though the country’s trade deficit has been improving remarkably, from US$17.5 billion in late 2008 to an estimated US$10 billion this year.

“We expect more Western corporations to invest in Vietnam in the future. A key factor in sustaining this interest is further improvement to the country’s infrastructure, including power supply, transportation logistics and telecommunications,” he said.

In its report, Standard Chartered expects Vietnam’s GDP growth at 5.5 percent in 2010 and 6 percent in 2011.

The IMF has recently forecast that Vietnam’s GDP growth in 2009 would be 4.75 percent.

The World Bank has revised its 2009 figure from 6.5 to 5.5 percent.

( Source: VNA )