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HANOI, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Vietnam's economy is accelerating in the second half of the year and annual growth will likely reach 5.0-5.2 percent, in line with the government's target, a state-run newspaper said on Tuesday.
A Planning and Investment Ministry report said gross domestic product in the fourth quarter ending December would grow 6.5 percent from a year earlier, above the third-quarter growth forecast of 5.5 percent, the Vietnam Economic Times newspaper said.
The government has targeted 2009 growth of 5 percent and like many of its Asian neighbours has unveiled a raft of economic stimulus measures to boost domestic acitvity and curb the impact of the global recession. The economy grew by 6.23 percent in 2008.
Annual inflation would hit 7 percent this year, while full-year exports could fall 2.7 percent to $61 billion and imports may drop 12 percent to $71 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $10 billion, the newspaper quoted the report to the National Assembly as saying.
Investment in the economy is expected to rise 16.2 percent from 2008 to 710 trillion dong ($39.8 billion), or 42.2 percent of GDP, of which foreign investment inflow could total $8 billion, the report said.
Vietnam's forecast growth for 2009 is above a projection of 4.5 percent growth by the Asian Development Bank and an International Monetary Fund forecast of 3.27 percent.
Vietnam's economic growth next year is forecast to accelerate to between 6 percent and 6.5 percent, the central bank's governor said late last month. [ID:nHAN511814] ($1=17,827 dong) (Reporting by Ho Binh Minh)