VIETNAM POSTS HIGHEST Q2 GDP GROWTH IN DECADE

Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 7.72% in the second quarter of this year, the highest for the quarter since 2011, according to the General Statistics Office.

The country’s GDP growth this quarter sent the figure in the first half of the year to 6.42%, the highest for the period in three years and higher than the 2.04% and 5.74% in the same period of 2020 and 2021. However, the growth rate was lower than the 7.28% and 6.98% in the first half of 2018 and 2019.

The agro-forestry-fishery sector gained year-on-year growth of 2.78% and contributed 5.07% to the nation’s economic growth, the local media reported.

In addition, the industry-construction sector expanded 7.7%, while the service sector rose 6.6%. The two sectors contributed 48.33% and 46.6% to GDP, respectively.

In the industry-construction sector, processing and manufacturing were major growth drivers, with a 9.66% year-on-year rise.

As for import-export, Vietnam exported nearly US$186 billion worth of products in the first six months of the year and spent some US$185 billion on imports, up 17.3% and 15.5%, respectively.

Total retail sales of consumer goods and services in the second quarter hit VND1,400 trillion (US$60.2 billion), rising 5.5% over the previous quarter and 19.5% over the same period last year. The figure was more than VND2,700 trillion in the first half, increasing nearly 12% over the year-ago period.

The country also witnessed the recovery of the tourism sector. In June alone, 236,700 foreign tourists visited Vietnam, up nearly 37% month-on-month and 33 times over the same period in 2021 as Vietnam had reopened tourism and international air routes.

In January-June, Vietnam welcomed 602,000 international arrivals, a seven-fold increase year-on-year. However, the number of international tourists was nearly 93% lower than the figure in the same period in 2019.

The consumer price index in June inched up 0.69% month-on-month and 3.37% year-on-year. The index expanded 2.44% in the first half of the year.

Source: The Saigon Times