Vietnam’s H1/2012 macroeconomic indicators unveiled

Vietnam’s H1/2012 macroeconomic indicators unveiled

 Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have reached VND270.115 trillion ($12.93 billion) in the first half of this year, up 4.38 percent year on year, according to the General Statistical Office of Vietnam (GSO).

This figure, with the base year of 1994, is lower than the 5.57 percent and 6.16 percent growth in H1/2011 and H1/2010, respectively.

Based on current prices, the country’s GDP is estimated at VND1,252.5 trillion ($59.6 billion).

Regarding economic sectors, the service field posted the best growth with a 5.57 percent year-on-year rise in H1, followed by the agro-forestry- fisheries and industry-construction sectors, with 2.81 percent and 3.81 percent year-on-year growth, respectively.

Vietnam is targeting 6 percent GDP growth this year, higher than the 5.9 percent expansion in 2011.

The biggest engines of the country’s GDP growth are industrial production and construction, accounting for 40.26 percent, followed by the service and agro-forestry- fisheries sectors, with 37.61 percent and 22.13 percent respectively, said GSO.

In Q2/2012 alone, the country’s GDP growth was 4.66 percent year on year, higher than the growth of 4 percent in the previous quarter, and higher than the forecast of 4.5 percent given previously.

According to the GSO, the country’s economic growth slowed down in the first half of 2012 due to difficulties in production and business and product consumption of many sectors.

Industrial production accounts for a large proportion, but its growth was inadequate.

However, from Q2/2012, the country’s economy has seen positive changes, especially in the industry and construction sectors.

The added value of these sectors in Q1 this year increased only 2.94 percent from the same period last year, and in Q2/2012, the growth was 4.52 percent year on year, of which the industry sector increased from 4.03 percent to 5.4 percent.

Several municipal statistics offices publicized their H1/2012 GDP growth before the national office, of which, Hanoi reached economic growth of 7.6 percent, Ho Chi Minh City hit 8.1 percent, Da Nang 10.2 percent, Binh Duong 10 percent, and Can Tho 8.63 percent.

The GSO’s report also showed that the country’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP) in June rose 8.0 percent from a year earlier, accelerating from an increase of 6.8 percent in May.

In the first six months of this year, the country’s unemployment rate was estimated at 2.29 percent, specifically in urban areas the rate stood at 3.62 percent, and in rural areas the figure was 1.65percent, said GSO.

The rate of underemployment of labor in the first half of 2012 was 3.06 percent; the urban/rural split was 1.92 percent 3.6percent, respectively.

The national labor force from age 15 and up in 2012 is estimated at 52.7 million people, 1.3 million more than in 2011, of which, male laborers account for 51.6 percent, and female workers make up 48.4 percent.

The working-age labor force is 47.1 million, up 0.6 million people, of which, male laborers account for 53.7 percent, and female workers 46.3 percent.

Laborers older than the age of 15 who are working in the economy in 2012 are estimated at 51.6 million people, up 1.3 million from 2011, in which laborers in agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors account for 48 percent, industry and construction 20.9 percent, and the service sector 31.1 percent.

Total retail sales and services up

Vietnam’s total retail sales and services in the first six months of this year are estimated to have reached more than VND1.137 trillion, rising 19.5 percent year on year.

If the price factor is excluded, the increase was equivalent to a 6.5 percent year-on-year rise, said GSO.

Trade activities, hotel and restaurant, services, and tourism constituted VND880.7 trillion, VND132.8 trillion, VND112.2 trillion, and VND11.7 trillion, accounting for 77.4 percent, 11.7 percent, 9.9 percent and 1 percent of the total value, respectively.

Their year-on-year growth rates were at 18.9 percent, 20.2 percent, 22.3 percent and 26.6 percent, respectively.

The number of international visitors to Vietnam in the past six months is estimated to have reached 3.363 million arrivals, up 13.9 percent from the same period last year.

Visitors to Vietnam for tourism and resort purposes, business purposes, and relative visits reached over 1.9 million tourists, 581,900 people, and 595,700 arrivals, up 12.7 percent, 18 percent, and 16.1 percent year on year, respectively.

During the period, Chinese tourists took the lead with 682,300 people, up 3 percent year on year, followed by South Korean, Japanese, American, and Taiwanese visitors, with 369,900 people (+41.3 percent), 289,000 people (+22.8 percent), 244,900 people (+2.6 percent), and 222,500 people (+23.8 percent), respectively.

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