WB reports early signs of Vietnam's economic recovery The World Bank said that there were early signs of recovery for Vietnam's economy. (Source: VNA) The World Bank said on December 3 that there were early signs of recovery for Vietnam's economy, with its economic growth expected to improve from 5.4 percent in 2013 to 5.6 percent in 2014. According to the WB’s new report issued on December 3, the country’s GDP expanded by 6.2 percent in the third quarter and 5.6 percent in the first nine months of this year, which are early signs of the country’s economic recovery. The bank attributed the positive outlook to the country’s ongoing macroeconomic stability and continued strong performance of the foreign-invested manufacturing export sector. It noted that positive macroeconomic conditions contributed to Vietnam’s improved sovereign risk ratings, enabling 1 billion USD of government bonds to be issued on international capital markets on favourable terms. The report found that underlying the broad pattern of economic recovery, the performances of foreign-invested and domestic firms remain dichotomous. The foreign-invested sector continues to be a significant source of growth, while the domestic private sector remains subdued, as reflected in the rising number of domestically-owned businesses that have closed or suspended operations. Regarding Vietnam’s financial sector, the report underlined the need to accelerate the Government’s reform programme, which was designed to address basic challenges facing the sector.-VNA