Vietnam’s Economy: Poor

choi

James Hookway and Alex Frangos, Vietnam Loses Glow as a Market Darling; Bad bank loans cloud countries's outlook; Talk of bailout. Wall Street Journal, Step 12, 2012.

Two consecutive paragraphs:

"The government recently acknowledged that nonperforming loans--many made to inefficient state-owned companies-could be as high as 10% of the banking system, substantially higher than reported by individual banks. Fitch Ratings analysis ts think the number is as high as 15%. 

"A record number of firms are declaring bankruptcy, and in the sprawling urban areas encompassing Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the landscape is littered with stalled construction projects as builders run out of cash or put on the brakes as demand for condominiums and office space dries up. 

My comment:
(a) The right panel (heading: Vietnam's gross domestic product growth) of the graph points out, helpfully, "2nd Qtr [2012] 4.4%."
(b) There is no need to read the rest of the report.