Vietnam Consumer & Retail Report Q2 2018

Vietnam Consumer & Retail Report Q2 2018

Robust economic growth and low unemployment will drive strong wage growth in Vietnam over the back end of 2017 and into2018, resulting in a positive outlook for the Vietnamese consumer. We forecast real private consumption to grow by 7.0% over2018, at a constant level from 2017, remaining above the 6.4% average annual growth rate for consumption between 2000 and2016. However, a pick-up in inflation of 3.7% in 2018, up from 3.5% in 2017, will dampen consumer spending over the mediumterm (2018-2022). Vietnam is one of the most promising consumer markets in the Asia Pacific region, along with Indonesia, India,the Philippines and China. We hold the view that the market presents compelling opportunities for consumer-facing companies.