Vietnam targets economic growth of up to 7% annually by 2020

[HANOI] Vietnam, which had one of the world's fastest economic growth rates last year, is aiming to achieve an average growth rate of 6.5-7.0 per cent by 2020, the country's ruling Communist Party said on Thursday.

The growth target won 98.74 per cent of votes at the five-yearly congress.

The congress re-elected Nguyen Phu Trong to its top post on Wednesday, an expected outcome that bolsters consensus rule but creates some uncertainty about the momentum of economic reform.

The Southeast Asian nation's economic growth accelerated last year to 6.68 per cent, the fastest growth since 2010, helped by an expanding industrial sector and record foreign direct investment.

REUTERS