“With incomes rising and poverty falling, Vietnam’s economy had another good year of strong growth and broad macroeconomic stability,” said Ousmane Dione, the World Bank’s director for Vietnam.

Sebastian Eckardt, the World Bank’s lead economist for Vietnam, noted that structural reform remains a central priority in view of tepid productivity growth. He added that building on progress already made, Vietnam can further raise productivity growth through investments in infrastructure and skills, as well as deeper reforms of the business environment, SOEs and the banking sector.

The World Bank suggested that Vietnam take advantage of cyclical upstick to strengthen macroeconomic resilience and carry out structural reforms to boost productivity and lift potential growth.