ECONOMIC INDICATORS ADVANCE STRONGLY

In April 2021, Vietnam witnessed an increase of roughly 24.1% year on year in industrial production; new corporate establishments and State funds disbursement hit multi-year highs; import and export value expanded at a 10 year high; and business confidence picked up, according to the latest data released by the General Statistics Office (GSO).

New corporate establishments increased from a year ago in April 2021. In the first four months of 2021, the number of newly-established enterprises increased by 17.5% year on year, the highest in 2017-2021, and the registered value jumped 41%.

In April, the country witnessed nearly 14,900 new companies founded with a combined registered capital of VND179.9 trillion, which hired 94,600 workers, representing respective growth of 33.1%, 59.1% and 30% over March.

From January to April, the country had nearly 44,200 new companies with a total registered capital of VND627.7 trillion (US$28 billion) and a newly hired workforce of 340,300 people, respectively rising 17.5%, 41% and 7.8% on year.

Also in the first four months of this year, an average of nearly 12,900 enterprises withdrew from the market each month.

Disbursed State funding hit 2017-2021 highs

Also in recent months, central and local enterprises focused on boosting the disbursement of State-funded budget amid the good containment of the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam. The realized State budget in April was estimated at 6.6% of the full-year plan in 2021, highest in 2017-2021.

Realized State funding reached VND30.4 trillion in April, up 23.9% year on year, totaling VND98.7 trillion in the four-month period to April, equal to 21.5% of the full-year plan and up 16.3% year on year (versus 16.6% and 14.5% in the same period of 2020, respectively).

The April foreign investment, including fresh and added direct investment and share purchases, reached US$12.25 billion, down 0.7% year on year. Disbursed FDI funding was estimated at US$5.5 billion in the first four months of the year, up 6.8% year on year.

Import and export growth at 10-year highs

Vietnam’s import and export growth hit a 10-year high in the first four months of 2021. The country was projected to earn a merchandise export value of US$25.5 billion in April, down 14% from March but up 44.9% from a year-ago period. From January to April, the export value was estimated at US$103.9 billion, up 28.3% year on year, with 19 commodities earning over US$1 billion, accounting for 84.5% of total export value.

By market, in the first four months, the United States was the largest importer of Vietnam, with US$30.3 billion, up 50.1% from a year earlier, followed by China with US$16.8 billion (32.4%) and the EU with US$12.6 billion (18.1%).

Vietnam ran a trade surplus of US$1.29 billion in the first four months of 2021, of which the domestic economic sector suffered a deficit of US$9.92 billion, while investors the foreign-invested sector took a surplus of US$11.21 billion.

CPI lowest since 2016

Declines of food prices on abundant supplies, and electricity and water prices on consumption demand, were the main reasons for the consumer price index (CPI) in April sliding 0.04% from the previous month but rising 1.27% from December 2020 and 2.7% over the same period last year. In the first four months of 2021, CPI climbed 0.89% from the same period of 2020, the lowest four-month growth since 2016. Core inflation added 0.74%.

People’s livelihoods were generally stable as a result of the Government's social security policies and solutions to support households near the poverty line.

Source: VCCI