Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 7.08 percent in the first half of the year, marking the highest rate since 2010. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 7.08percent in the first half of the year, marking the highest rate since 2010, fueledby robust expansion of the industrial and construction sector and servicesector, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
“Impressivegrowth was seen in the agriculture, seafood, processing and manufacturing andservice sectors and exports continued to be a driving force for the nation’seconomic development,” said GSO General Director Nguyen Bich Lam at a pressconference in Hanoi on June 29.
The agro-forestry-fishery sector picked up 3.93 percent, contributing 9.7percent of the GDP growth. Expanding 9.07 percent and 6.9 percent, theindustrial and construction sector and the service industry contributed 48.9percent and 41.4 percent, respectively, of the GDP growth.
Notably, the industrial sector climbed 9.28 percent in the second quarter,which is much higher than 7.01 percent and 5.42 percent recorded the sameperiod in 2016 and 2017. Processing and manufacturing were the pillar of thegrowth, which scaled up 13.02 percent, the highest level in recent seven years.
The service industry saw the contributions of wholesale and retail sale,financial activities, banking and insurance, accommodations and restaurants, transportationand warehouse and property.
The GSO head said that business confidence was high among domestic and foreigninvestors in the six-month period. According to Nikkei report, Vietnam’spurchasing managers index (PMI) edged up 52.7 points in April to 53.9 points inMay.
In addition, Vietnam jumped 14 steps to rank 69th among 190economies in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2018 report, which acknowledgedsignificant improvements of Vietnam in the areas of getting electricity,getting credit, paying taxes, trading across borders and enforcing contracts.This is expected to create favourable conditions for investments by the privatesector.
Nikkei said that by May, Vietnam posted the strongest growth in the number ofexport orders in 14 months.
“These macro-economic indices proved the promptness and efficiency in thesteering work of the Government and the Prime Minister along with efforts ofministries, sectors and localities since the onset of the year,” Lam said.-VNA
VNA
