British diplomatic cables raise series of concerns about Vietnam’s JETP

Of note, over the last two years in the wake of a broader economic downturn brought on by higher interest rates in key export markets and the near-collapse of Vietnam’s real estate market, everyday Vietnamese have turned to saving rather than spending their excess income. This is problematic in that local consumption has been an important growth driver over the last decade or so. Retail sales, month on month, however,  have been more or less stagnant since the beginning of the year. This latest data from the SBV suggests this could last a while longer…