Vietnam’s swift and uncompromising response to control the COVID-19 pandemic was rewarded not only by very low casualties relative to much of the rest of the world but also the ability to reopen much of the economy sooner and with more limited stress on macroeconomic and financial stability. As a result, Vietnam has reported a preliminary GDP growth figure of 2.9% for 2020 and is one of only a handful of countries expected to have seen an increase in GDP in 2020.