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The start of 2020 began with COVID-19, restricting travel, disrupting global supply chains, and causing large scale unemployment due to significant losses incurred by global businesses. Vietnam was no different with initial data showing that the country’s GDP grew by just 1.81 percent in the first half of the year compared with a pre-COVID projection of 6.8 percent in 2020.

In terms of its response to the coronavirus outbreak, Vietnam was among the first few countries to shut its borders and stop international flights. It also invested in aggressive contact tracing, testing for the virus, quarantining of suspected and confirmed cases, and effectively mobilized state agencies. The result was that Vietnam could lift its lockdown as early as April 22, reporting just over 400 cases with no deaths. Vietnam has also been one of the few countries that achieved net positive growth during the pandemic.

This is why, despite the impact of COVID-19, the Asian Development Bank still forecasts Vietnam to be one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia while the World Bank observes that Vietnam’s economy is resilient. Retail sales, imports, and industrial production were all up year-on-year in June, better than most countries with Vietnam’s outlook the brightest in the region as per the financial service firm UBS.

In this issue of Vietnam Briefing, we look at Vietnam’s management of the pandemic and key incentives from the government to attract and sustain foreign investment and aid business recovery. We conclude by assessing the growth of new investment opportunities that have been shaped by the pandemic crisis.

This magazine is based on Dezan Shira & Associates’ years of experience in supporting foreign enterprises in Vietnam. For more information and advice on how to plan for or restructure your investment into Vietnam, please contact us at vietnam@dezshira.com.