Fitch raised Vietnam’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating to 'BB' from 'BB-', with a stable outlook. The agency said the upgrade reflects Vietnam’s improving policy-making aimed at strengthening macroeconomic performance. The upgrade puts Vietnam at the second-highest speculative grade and on par with Costa Rica.

Fitch said that Vietnam’s foreign exchange reserves are expected to reach 66 billion USD by the end of this year from 49 billion USD in 2017, while general government debt is likely to decline to below 50% of GDP by next year. It also expected Vietnam’s GDP to grow by the targeted 6.7% this year. Vietnam will “remain among the fastest-growing economies in the Asia-Pacific region, and fastest among ‘BB’ rated peers,” Fitch said.

Vietnam enjoyed a strong economic  expansion of 7.38% in the first quarter of this year, the best first-quarter performance in the last decade, according to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam.