Vietnam poised to miss GDP target as COVID squeezes economy

Q3 result likely worse than 2020, analysts say, with rebound hinging on faster jabs

Plastic sheet dividers minimize physical interaction between store workers and shoppers at a wet market in Hanoi on Sept. 21. Vietnam's big cities have taken steps to reverse the spread of the COVID-19, but with limited success. © Getty Images

TOMOYA ONISHI, Nikkei staff writer

September 27, 2021 14:00 JST

HANOI -- Vietnam faces the prospect of missing its 6.5% growth target for this year, underscoring the country's sharp turn from a pandemic success story to hard-hit victim.

The growth figure for the third quarter, anticipated by the end of this month, is being widely projected at under 2% -- worse than the same quarter of 2020. A wave of infections and a strict COVID-19 lockdown squeezed the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City, and experts warn the impact could weigh on the economy beyond the third quarter unless the country manages to accelerate vaccinations.