Vietnam’s GDP growth slows

HANOI: Vietnam’s economy grew at its slowest pace in a decade in the first quarter, hit by a coronavirus pandemic and the sluggish global economy, government data showed yesterday.

Gross domestic product grew 3.28% in the January-March period, slower than the 6.79% of the corresponding period last year, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said.

Processing and manufacturing grew 7.12%, while services rose 3.27% and agriculture gained 0.08%, the data showed.

The country is likely to have posted a trade surplus of $2.81 billion in the January-March period.

“The coronavirus pandemic has hurt Vietnam’s key industries such as tourism and manufacturing,” the GSO said in a statement. “Achieving the 6.8% economic expansion in 2020 is a big challenge.”