HSBC report said as a country particularly exposed to the global trade cycle, external weakness has dampened Vietnam’s growth. After falling 12% year-on-year in the first quarter this year, exports continued their double-digit decline, falling 11.7% year-on-year in April.
HSBC said that the weakness continued to be broad-based, with key shipments such as textiles, footwear, smartphones and wooden furniture saw notable slumps. However, the only bright spot in April’s data was computer electronics, rising 5.4% year-on-year.
Despite weakness in goods trade, services continue to provide some much-needed support. International tourist arrivals moved closer to one million in April, driven by a 70% month-on-month pick-up in Chinese tourists.
While it will likely see weak growth in the first quarter this year, the bank expects the services sector to receive a punchier boost and the trade tide to turn in the second quarter, lifting whole-year growth to 5.2% in 2023./.
