Vietnam is set to be one of the region’s top growing countries, after registering two consecutive years of growth following the pandemic, according to HSBC Global Research.

The country’s economy got off to a strong start to the year, maintaining the policy to “co-live with the virus.” Vietnam has boosted its Covid vaccination drive and is easing local restrictions, bolstering consumer sentiment. This has led to an ongoing rally in local consumption, according to analysts of Markets and Securities Services, HSBC Vietnam.

Ngô Đăng Khoa, Country Head of Markets and Securities Services at HSBC Vietnam, said total goods retail sales and consumer service revenues rose by 11.7% in Q1 year-on-year and 7.9% excluding inflation, The Star reports.

The re-opening of the economy from the middle of March has been particularly important for the country’s services recovery, according to Vietnam News Agency.

In the first half of 2022, approximately 602,000 overseas visitors travelled to Vietnam, over six times more than the same time last year.

That said, a sluggish rebound in tourism is forecast by HSBC analysts due to Covid, the findings showed.

In addition, another key factor fuelling the slow recovery in the country is the ongoing tension in Russia, as well as the ‘zero Covid’ policy in China, impeding tourism from staging a rapid rally, as both countries are Vietnam’s principal sources of tourists.

Moreover, Vietnam’s exports rose 17.3% year-on-year between January and June this year.

GDP in the second quarter increase to 7.72% year-on-year, predominantly thanks to broad-based growth, The Star report goes on to add, resulting in a 6.42% rise in year-on-year growth in H1 2022.