Before the Iran war, Vietnam was on track to receive a long-awaited upgrade to its credit rating to investment grade over the next few years.

Manufacturing, exports, capex, consumer demand, and tourism were all firing. That trajectory has shifted.

Rising energy prices, fuel scarcity, and a slowdown in global trade have clouded the outlook for H2’26 and potentially beyond. Vietnam will likely fare better than most of Southeast Asia, its inherent strengths and political stability provide a floor, but the growth trajectory is now lower and the timeline to investment grade is less certain.

The central question: Can the To Lam government provide a steady hand during this turbulent period and guide the economy back to the pathway to an investment grade upgrade?

To address this, we’ve invited Michael Kokalari, Chief Economist at VinaCapital, for a timely session on Vietnam’s outlook. Michael has worked in Vietnam for over 10 years and is one of the most respected voices on its economy and markets. Prior to VinaCapital, he spent years as a derivatives trader in Tokyo and London running multi-billion-dollar trade books, and has co-authored a book with Nobel laureates Myron Scholes of Harvard University and William Sharpe of Stanford University.

If Vietnam is in your portfolio, or you are evaluating it as part of your ASEAN strategy, this is a session worth joining.

These events are for members only. If you’d like to discover more about membership, please contact us at service@imaasia.com