(VOVWORLD) -S&P Global Ratings on Thursday upgraded Vietnam's long-term sovereign credit rating to BB+ with a 'Stable' outlook on the back of strong economic recovery. It forecast that over the next one or two years, Vietnam’s economy will continue to recover from the pandemic, which will support its external position and contain the fiscal deficit. This projection is consistent with the National Assembly’s assessment of Vietnam’s socio-economic performance in the first months of 2022.
 The effective implementation of nationwide vaccination campaign has made Vietnam one of the six countries with highest vaccine coverage rate in the world. Photo: VNA
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Strenuous effort
Vietnam's sovereign credit rating is based on the recognition that Vietnam’s economy remains on a solid track to recovery following the complete removal of domestic and cross-border mobility restrictions, outstanding improvement in COVID-19 vaccination rates, and a flexible shift in disease control strategy.
At the ongoing National Assembly session, deputies said the effective rollout of its vaccination campaign has put Vietnam among 6 countries with the highest vaccine coverage in the world. The number of new cases, severe cases, and deaths have decreased significantly since the end of March, strengthening the confidence of people and businesses and contributing to socio-economic recovery and development.
Macro-economic stability plus competitive advantages in labor are enhancing the attractiveness of Vietnam’s processing and manufacturing sector to global enterprises, stimulating export growth. Phan Duc Hieu, a National Assembly deputy for Thai Binh province, said: “The economy is well on its way to recovery if you look at import and export, new business establishment, tourism, goods trade, and so on. These show very positive signs of recovery compared to the third and fourth quarter of 2021. The economic picture is bright.”
Vietnam's public finance has maintained stability, even with budget revenue and expenditure under pressure due to the pandemic. Deputy Le Hoang Anh, who represents Gia Lai province, said: “The Government so far has controlled inflation very well. It should closely monitor the situation to flexibly and effectively carry out fiscal and monetary policies to keep inflation below the level permitted by the National Assembly.”
Phan Van Mai, a deputy for Ho Chi Minh City, attributes the economic recovery to tireless efforts at all levels and policies that are on the right track.
 Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh. Photo: VNA
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Fulcrum of recovery
Despite Vietnam's positive outlook, reaching the 6-6.5% growth target for this year will be a big challenge. The fulcrum of recovery will be effective implementation of the Socio-Economic Development and Recovery Program, as Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh put it:“The Government will aggressively implement solutions to strongly promote disbursement of public investment capital. We will speed up disbursement of three national target programs and soon submit to the National Assembly Standing Committee for consideration the list of projects using capital from the Socio-Economic Development and Recovery Program.”
Vietnam considers macroeconomic stability and inflation control its top task for this year. That policy has received validation from S&P Global Ratings raising Vietnam’s long-term sovereign credit rating.