HANOI, June 8 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank (WB) on Wednesday maintained its forecast for Vietnam's average economic growth of 6.3 percent during the 2016-2018 period, unchanged compared to its earlier forecast in January 2016.
In the latest update of WB's Global Economic Prospects, Vietnam's economic growth during 2016-2018 period is based on all categories of demand buoyed by strong foreign direct investment, growing exports of manufactures, and solid labor markets.
Among the large developing ASEAN economies, Vietnam and the Philippines have the strongest growth prospects, said a press release by WB Vietnam on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in late 2015, Vietnam's National Assembly targeted the country's economic growth to be 6.7 percent in 2016.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc last Friday said his country's economic growth is expected to hit around 6.8 percent in 2017.
In the report, the WB is downgrading its 2016 global growth forecast to 2.4 percent from the 2.9 percent pace projected in January. The move is due to sluggish growth in advanced economies, stubbornly low commodity prices, weak global trade, and diminishing capital flows.
