Vietnam's economy expands in Q4 as manufacturing revives

Hanoi

VIETNAM'S economic growth accelerated in the fourth quarter as manufacturing revived and exports extended their recovery from the pandemic slump earlier this year.

Gross domestic product (GDP) rose 5.22 per cent in Q4 compared to a year earlier, up from a revised -6.02 per cent in the third quarter, the General Statistics Office said on Wednesday (Dec 29) in Hanoi. That is compared to the median estimate of 3.7 per cent for Q4 in a Bloomberg survey of 21 economists.

The economy expanded 2.58 per cent for the full year, compared to the median estimate of 2.2 per cent in the Bloomberg survey and just above the government's forecast of 2.5 per cent. The Asian Development Bank earlier this month revised its 2021 growth forecast for Vietnam to 2 per cent, down from 3.8 per cent previously.

The nation's economic growth is a great result "given that the pandemic had seriously affected all sectors of our economy", Nguyen Thi Huong, head of the general statistics office, said during a briefing in Hanoi.

The economy is expected to accelerate its recovery from the pandemic in 2022 with momentum coming from the travel and tourist industries, increasing domestic consumption and government stimulus measures, Le Trung Hieu, head of the GDP department of the statistics office.

Other details from the statistics office include:

Exports rose 24.8 per cent in December from a year earlier, while imports climbed 14.6 per cent. For the full year, exports increased 19 per cent and imports gained 26.5 per cent. The trade surplus in December was at US$2.5 billion. The country recorded a full-year trade surplus of US$4 billion. Manufacturing rose 10.9 per cent in December from a year earlier.

Consumer prices rose 1.81 per cent in December from a year earlier. The government aims to cap average inflation at 4 per cent this year and next. Pledged foreign direct investment (FDI) for 2021 was up 9.2 per cent year on year, while disbursed FDI dropped 1.2 per cent. BLOOMBERG