Vietnam accepts 10% GDP growth target as inflation challenge hits 5.1%
3▲0 ▼0Impact / 5
Vietnamese officials have warned of growing challenges in pushing the economy to grow at 10% a year, even though the economy expanded by an average of 9% in the first nine months of 2026, alongside strong growth in exports and foreign investment commitments. Prime Minister Le Minh Hung said at a cabinet meeting on Saturday that driving the economy to double-digit growth creates significant pressure and poses major challenges. Vietnam's statistics office estimates that for the economy to grow by an average of 10% across all of 2026, the fourth quarter would need to expand by at least 12.5%, a level Vietnam has achieved only once, when the economy grew 13.7% in the third quarter of 2022, and since then growth has averaged around 7%. Meanwhile, Vietnam's inflation in the latest month rose to nearly 5.1%, making it harder to bring inflation back to the 4.5% target. Nguyen Thu Oanh, head of the price division at Vietnam's statistics office, said the impact on price levels may become clearer in the final months of the year and could continue into 2027. In the latest economic data, foreign investment commitments in the January to September period rose 76% from a year earlier, while disbursed foreign direct investment rose 12%. Exports in the latest month rose 39%, and domestic retail sales increased 14%.