Vietnam’s GDP rises 6.61% in QII despite COVID-19

Unveiling the three-month and six-month data in Hanoi on June 29, the GSO said the second quarter’s figure is far higher than the growth rate of 0.39% recorded in the second quarter of 2020 and lower than the figure of 6.73% seen in the second quarter of 2018 and 2019.

The agro-forestry-fisheries, industry and construction, and service sectors expanded by 4.11%, 10.28%, and 4.3%, respectively, in the second quarter.

Overall, national GDP in the first half of the year increased by 5.64%, far higher than the growth rate of 1.82% recorded last year, but lower than the figures of 7.05% and 6.77% seen in both 2018 and 2019.

Nguyen Thi Huong, GSO general director, noted that the resurgence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in a number of localities across the country since the end of April has posed numerous challenges for Vietnam as it strives to realise the dual goal of pandemic prevention and economic development.

The GSO stated that 11,300 businesses capitalized at VND164,300 billion were established in June alone, down 2.5% in terms of the number of enterprises but a rise of 9.1% in registered capital.

In total, the first half of the year saw 67,100 newly-established with registered capital of VND942,600 billion.

Since the beginning of the year, about 26,100 enterprises have resumed operations, while 35,600 businesses have been forced to temporarily suspend their operation.

Meanwhile, the consumer price index (CPI) in June rose by 0.19% from the previous month and 1.62% compared to December 2019, which can largely be attributed to a surge in the price of raw and input materials in line with global market fluctuations.

Core inflation in June rose 0.07% over the previous month and 1.14% against the same period from last year, while the average core inflation in the first half of the year witnessed an annual increase of 0.87%.