Vietnam Economic and Tourism News August 2023
The World Bank said in an economic update released on August 10th that the challenging external environment and weaker domestic demand are leading to a slowdown in economic growth in Vietnam, but the economy is expected to pick back up in the second half of 2023 and the following years.
All provinces' GRDP economic growth rates in the first 6 months of 2023 were reported to have a year-on-year increase of 5.65 percent.
Total pre-tax profit of the top 25 largest listed banks in the second quarter of 2023 reached 61.6 trillion VND or 2.6 billion USD, down 3.1% over the same period last year.
Analysts in Vietnam say lending interest rates will drop sharply in the second half of 2023 as capital costs of commercial banks are falling,
Tourism
The National Assembly of Vietnam recently approved legislation allowing foreign visitors to extend their –e-visa validity to 90 days instead of 30 days.
Foreigners will be able to enter and exit the nation multiple times without having to go through new visa procedures.
Vietnam welcomed more than 6.6 million foreign arrivals in the first seven months of 2023, meeting 82.5% of the country's goals. With the new e-visa policy to be put in place, the tourism industry is likely to receive up to 10 million foreign visitors this year, beating the 8-million set target.
