Blog posts tagged by tag: Investment

• Assessing Vietnam's economy: key growth drivers and challenges

  As many of the world's largest emerging economies were faltering earlier this year, namely China, Russia, and Brazil, Vietnam appeared to be one of the emerging market standouts. Since then, however, the Vietnamese economy has shifted into a lower gear as adverse weather conditions damaged a large share of agricultural output, which accounts for almost 20% of GDP. Following disappointing first and second quarter GDP readings, analysts now project Vietnam expanding 6.1% this year, which is substantially lower than the near 7% growth that was expected earlier in year. Despite the disappointing year thus far for Vietnam, FocusEconomics expects steady growth in the manufacturing and construction sectors to offset the impact of the lower agricultural yield and help the economy recover in the second half of the year. We recently sat down with our Vietnam expert economist Jean-Philippe Pourcelot to chat about how he views Vietnam's economic outlook, the key factors that will affect the country's economic growth in 2016 and how reforms could help Vietnam's government to improve FDI and foster a more business-friendly environment overall.

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  Tags: Asia, Economic Growth (GDP), Investment, Vietnam

• How will the UK economy fare after Brexit?

  2017 is shaping up to be a tough year for the UK post-Brexit. Economic analysts are projecting the economy to decelerate substantially to just 0.3% growth, fixed investment is seen falling drastically, exports are expected to plummet, the pound has taken quite a tumble... and that's just the beginning. Have a look at the latest forecasts for the UK:

  

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  Tags: Brexit, Consensus Forecast, Economic Growth (GDP), European Union, Forex, Infographic, Investment, Trade, UK

• Beyond the Commodities Boom – China’s Shifting Role in Africa

  China’s meteoric rise in the past has been a boon to developing and advanced economies alike. Its seemingly insatiable consumption of raw materials destined for its rapidly-expanding urban centers and capital investments in a number of sectors helped to inflate what is often referred to as the “commodities super cycle” that has characterized the past 15 years. In an effort to secure such commodities, China has expanded its presence in sub-Saharan Africa, sending substantial sums of capital, expertise and workers to develop extraction industries and infrastructure in several countries. However, China’s rapid growth is unwinding, and its objectives in Africa are likely to reflect this fact. This month, Chinese leader Xi Jinping visits Zimbabwe and South Africa to engage in talks with African leaders.

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  Tags: Africa, China, Commodities, Investment, South Africa