ADB: Growth at 6.7% in 2017 & 2018 Vietnam’s growth prospects have been revised upwards to 6.7 per cent in both 2017 and 2018 compared to previous forecasts of 6.3 per cent and 6.5 per cent, respectively, in a supplement to the Asia Development Bank’s Asian Development Outlook Update 2017 report, released on December 13.    The first three quarters of 2017 saw GDP grow by 6.4 per cent, up from 5.9 per cent in the same period of 2016, the report noted.  Growth was driven by the manufacturing sector, which expanded 12.8 per cent in the first three quarters of the year, the highest rate in the sector since 2011.  “Fourth-quarter manufacturing growth, traditionally the sector’s strongest, is likely to exceed growth over the first three quarters,” the report stated. Services growth also rose to 7.3 per cent from 6.7 per cent in the corresponding period in 2016, driven by buoyant tourism and strong banking activity.  Agriculture recovered and grew by 2.8 per cent in the first nine months as drought eased in the Mekong Delta and the central highlands.  Industry and construction remained strong despite a drag from the mining and oil subsector, which contracted by 8.1 per cent in the first half of the year. The ADB forecasts that economic expansion in developing Asia will accelerate to 6 per cent in 2017 as stronger than expected exports and domestic consumption fuel growth.  Excluding Asia’s newly industrialized economies, growth is now expected at 6.5 per cent this year.  “Developing Asia’s growth momentum, supported by recovering exports, demonstrates that openness to trade remains an essential component of inclusive economic development,” said Mr. Yasuyuki Sawada, ADB’s Chief Economist.  “Countries can further take advantage of the global recovery by investing in human capital and physical infrastructure that will help sustain growth over the long-term.” Growth in Southeast Asia is picking up faster than earlier forecasted, with GDP set to expand by 5.2 per cent in 2017 and 2018, compared to forecasts in September 2017 of 5 per cent and 5.1 per cent.  The sub-region is benefiting from stronger investments and exports, with accelerating growth in Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Infrastructure investment continued to play an important role in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand.  Robust domestic demand - particularly private consumption and investment - will continue to support growth in the sub-region, according to the report. VN Economic Times