Central bank continues growth drive amid global uncertainties
11:00 | 13/01/2021
Rates were cut last year to aid struggling businesses, photo Le Toan
HSBC economist Yun Liu stated that given Vietnamâs limited fiscal space, the monetary policy has done most of the heavy lifting to drive growth.
âAs Vietnamâs economy is set for robust recovery in the coming quarters, we expect the central bank to keep its monetary policy on hold until June 2022, before possibly delivering a 25-basis-point hike, bringing its refinancing rate to 4.25 per cent by the year-end,â she forecast.
In 2020, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) cut rates thrice to help vulnerable businesses weather the storm. The latest cut was in September when the SBV dropped its annual refinancing rate by another 50 basis points, bringing it down to 4 per cent. The magnitude of the cut signalled the central bankâs sense of urgency, given the governmentâs 2020 growth target of 2.5-3 per cent.