Vietnam’s GDP seen exceeding 6.8% in 2019
Vietnam’s GDP seen exceeding 6.8% in 2019
Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) for this year will surpass the target of 6.8% set by the National Assembly, said Nguyen Bich Lam, head of the General Statistics Office (GSO).
The country’s socio-economic situation showed positive developments between January and November this year, according to the GSO.
Total retail sales of goods and services for the 11 months rose by 11.8% from one year earlier to VND4,481 trillion (US$193 billion). The growth in November alone was 12.6%, the highest for that month in the past six years.
However, the prices of pork and its related food products rose sharply due to the adverse impact of African swine fever on pork supplies. This was a key factor behind the fact that Vietnam’s consumer price index in November posted its monthly gain of 0.96%.
Vietnam posted an 11-month export revenue of US$241.4 billion, a year-on-year rise of 7.8%. Of this sum, five groups of goods saw their revenues exceed US$10 billion each. They included phones and phone parts; electronics, computers and their parts; textiles and garments; footwear; and machinery, equipment, tools and machine parts.
On the other hand, the country spent US$232.31 billion on imports, leading to a trade surplus of US$9.1 billion.
As of November 20, foreign investors had injected some US$31.8 billion in direct and indirect investments into Vietnam, up 3.1% from the year-earlier period.
Hoang Van Cuong, a National Assembly deputy in Hanoi, said the reform of administrative procedures and reductions in business conditions have brought significant results.
These reforms have increased efficiencies in conducting business with other countries, and also supported the activities of the private sector this year, he said.
Further, the processing and manufacturing industries expanded 10.6% in the 11 months, lower than that of the year-ago period of 12.1%.
In this regard, Pham Dinh Thuy, head of the GSO’s Industrial Statistics Department, pointed out the Nghi Son Oil Refinery, based in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa, is suspending its operations for maintenance until the end of this year, leading to an 11-month decline of 46.4% from one year earlier.
Also, according to the GSO, the disbursement of investment from the State budget in the 11 months remained low. Additionally, trade tensions are having impacts on global supply chains and the value of currencies and assets, so the Vietnamese economy might suffer uncertainties at end-2019.
The GSO suggested that the Government remove obstacles related to land issues, administrative procedures and institutions, in order to speed the disbursement of public investment and tackle difficulties facing key projects, especially those of large scale and of national importance.
The Government was also urged to take effective measures to attract foreign direct investment and official development assistance (ODA) loans, as well as build increased trust among the business community to become involved in investment and construction activities.
