HANOI -- Vietnam faces the prospect of missing its 6.5% growth target for this year, underscoring the country's sharp turn from a pandemic success story to hard-hit victim.
The growth figure for the third quarter, anticipated by the end of this month, is being widely projected at under 2% -- worse than the same quarter of 2020. A wave of infections and a strict COVID-19 lockdown squeezed the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City, and experts warn the impact could weigh on the economy beyond the third quarter unless the country manages to accelerate vaccinations.
