STRONG Q3 FOR VIETNAM
Economy expands 7.46pc in July-September period, the country’s best since 2011
VIETNAM’S economic growth in July-September quickened to 7.46 per cent compared with a year ago in the strongest third quarter growth since 2011, said the statistics office yesterday, backed by solid expansion in the industry and services sectors and exports.
In January-September, growth hit 6.41 per cent, the strongest for the same period since 2015, said the General Statistics Office, a positive signal for the nation as its pushes to hit its full-year growth target of 6.7 per cent. The third quarter on-year growth accelerated from 6.28 per cent in the second quarter.
While most Asian economies are yet to report third quarter growth figures, Vietnam’s data suggests it could be one of the region’s best performing economies in the period based on expectations for other countries.
Reaching its full-year growth target is important for Vietnam. It failed to hit the target and slowed for the first time in four years last year, which was proinvestment prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s first year in office.
The government has said Vietnam needed to grow 7.4 per cent in the second half of the year to achieve the full-year goal, and has called for an increase in credit growth to 21 per cent this year despite concerns over bad loans, lower interest rates and an increase in investment.
The industry and construction sectors grew 7.17 per cent annually in the first nine months of the year, while the services sector expanded 7.25 per cent in the same period and the agriculture area grew 2.78 per cent.
The industrial index of production this month rose an estimated 13.2 per cent from the same month last year, the highest growth since February, while trade surplus extended to the third straight month in September at US$400 million (RM1.69 billion).
Vietnam received an estimated US$12.5 billion in foreign direct investment in the first nine months, up 13.4 per cent from the same period last year.