Vietnamplus

Despite the global economic downturn, Laos' National Assembly has set an economic growth target of at least 4.5% for 2023 as proposed by the Government.​

The value of the Lao currency, the kip, dropped by 37.4% against the US dollar and 32.9% against the Thai baht in the official market from January to August, according to an updated report of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

After two years of enforcement, the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has generated initial results, but rising inflation in the EU and the euro depreciation are affecting Vietnamese firms, requiring urgent solutions to those difficulties.

The weaker baht is expected to boost the Thai economy and increase real GDP of the country by 0.4 percent, but not all manufacturers will reap the benefits, according to the Industry Ministry of Thailand.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has projected that the Indonesian economy will return to high growth, last seen in the pre-pandemic era, in 2022, with the economy forecast to expand 5 percent next year.

Indonesia’s rupiah (IDR) on March 18 touched the lowest level since the 1998 crisis as fears of a global recession over the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) prompts investors worldwide to dump financial assets.

The sudden depreciation of Chinese yuan against the US dollar brings more difficulties to Vietnam’s yarn industry, according to Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS).

The depreciation of the Chinese currency, the yuan, will affect the baht of Thailand and export values of the country for the rest of the year, which will force the Bank of Thailand (BoT) to come up with measures to manage the Thai currency, according to economists.

The depreciation of the Indonesian rupiah against the US dollar on May 22 was blamed on the riots that followed after incumbent President Joko Widodo had been declared winner of the presidential election.

The monetary market’s liquidity has remained stable and foreign currency supply and demand are relatively balanced amidst the uptrend of USD/VND exchange rates over the last few days, an official from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has assured.

In 2018, the VND only devalued about 2.2-2.3 percent compared to the USD and lower than the depreciation of EUR, pound and yuan at 4.5 percent, 5.7 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively.

Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economy Darmin Nasution said the pressure on rupiah would not yet be over although it is relatively stable hovering in a narrow range of 14,500-14,600 per US dollar after dropping to the level of 15,000 rupiah per US dollar a few weeks ago.

Vietnam’s rice export is estimated to drop to 5.65 million tonnes in 2016, down 14 percent against the previous year and 800,000 tonnes lower than initial forecast.

Vietnamese enterprises, especially those having trade links with Chinese counterparts, will suffer from the negative impacts of China’s move to devalue its yuan currency, said experts.

Vietnam’s stock market is forecast to face a range of hurdles in 2016, said Vu Bang, Chairman of the State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC),

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines conducted 365 flights between Vietnam and Indonesia in 2015, carrying more than 100,000 passengers and over 1,000 tonnes of cargos.

The dollar pulled back a little on August 27 after the central bank promised no more devaluation is in the offing, with almost all banks reducing their selling rate by 25-35 VND.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) will not make any further adjustment to the Vietnam Dong/US Dollar exchange rate this year, SBV Deputy Governor Nguyen Thi Hong said.

Singapore’s economy may suffer from negative impacts from China’s move to devalue its currency for three consecutive days on August 11, 12 and 13, experts said.