HANOI (Vietnam News/ANN): A looser monetary policy should be instituted to support economic growth in the wake of global volatilities, especially the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (nCoV), experts suggested. GDP growth would be at only 6.09 per cent, 0.71 percentage points lower than the target if the epidemic is controlled in the second quarter. “The Vietnamese economy this year is facing more challenges than last year, so a loose monetary policy is needed, ” Hiếu said, proposing interest rate cuts and stimulus packages for some affected industries. “An economic slowdown in the second half of the first quarter due to the virus may be the motivation for a looser monetary policy from the central bank, ” the experts predicted. Central banks in many Asian countries have so far also loosened monetary policies to support their economies.

Source: The Star February 11, 2020 01:30 UTC