The Indonesian economy grew by 4.87% in the first three months of this year, marking the slowest growth pace since the third quarter of 2021.

Gaining a firm foothold in the domestic market of more than 100 million people is critically important to businesses as the domestic market, which, if properly leveraged, could help offset the decline in export orders.

Large retailers have been investing in expanding their distribution systems, aiming to contribute to the overall growth of the domestic market in 2025.

A representative from the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) emphasised that it is necessary to stimulate domestic consumption in 2025 as it is a crucial task, not only for Vietnam but also for many countries around the world.

Nearly 121,900 new enterprises were established with total registered capital of 1.158 quadrillion (46.7 billion USD) in the first nine months of this year, figures released by the General Statistics Office (GSO) showed.

From now until the end of the year, many trade promotion and consumer demand stimulation programmes will be launched to boost the domestic market.

Domestic consumption is likely to lose steam as consumers face uncertainties, along with changes to shopping trends. Meanwhile, businesses have reported it's increasingly difficult to maintain purchasing power and reduce inventory buildup, said industry insiders and economists.

Vietnam ran a trade deficit in May as the import of major materials rebounded, signaling that green shoots are sprouting in domestic production, experts have said.

Banks are expecting an improvement in credit growth from the second quarter of 2024, especially now that loan interest rates have decreased, exports gradually recovered, and domestic consumption increased.

The 2023 E-commerce Week and Online Friday, Vietnam's largest online shopping programmes of the year, are slated to begin later this month, heard a press conference held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) on November 16.

Vietnam has a domestic market of 100 million people with an increasing income. If businesses manage to meet local consumer demand, they will gain the ability to weather the impact of adverse external factors.

Thailand's finance ministry has lowered the country's economic growth projection for 2023 to 3.5 % from the previous forecast of 3.6% despite a strong recovery in tourism.

Given the prolonged difficulties for Vietnam’s export market, investment and consumption could use a boost to help Vietnam reach this year’s growth target.

Ho Chi Minh City’s export turnover in the first half of this year reached an estimated 19.42 billion USD, down 22.4% year-on-year.

Vietnam earned 15.66 billion USD from agro-forestry-aquatic product exports in the first four months of 2023, down 13.3%year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). ​

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has projected Malaysia’s economy to grow at 4.7% in 2023, and 4.9% in 2024.

The Thai Industries Sentiment Index (TISI) climbed to 93.9 in January, up from 92.6 from the previous month, the highest ever in 43 months, driven by increased domestic consumption and a robust rebound in tourism, according to the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).

The macroeconomic outlook of Vietnam is bright as the country has witnessed strong domestic consumption, received foreign direct investments and maintained a surplus in trade balance with other countries, wrote an article recently published on the US’s seekingalpha.com.

Despite its great potential for growth, poor transport infrastructure and high costs are holding back the logistics industry, insiders said at the Vietnam Logistics Transformation forum held in HCM City on October 19.

The southern province of Ben Tre, known as Vietnam’s coconut capital, is seeking ways to support local farmers to sell coconut products amid dropping prices.