Vietnam’s economy unexpectedly expanded in the second quarter, through at its slowest pace since 2011 despite the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Bloomberg.

The news agency cited data from the Vietnam General Statistics Office released on June 29 that Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter increased 0.36% and in the first quarter rose 3.68% compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was for the country’s GDP to shrink by 0.9%.

Vietnam's export-reliant economy is taking a knock as the virus disrupts global supply chains and hurts demand, but it is still likely to be one of the better performers in South-east Asia this year, the agency stated.

Vietnam’s GDP increased 1.81% during the first six months of 2020, the lowest first-half growth pace since 2011 which was mainly due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is however considered a decent growth rate compared to other countries in the region.

Positive growth was reached despite a 2% reduction in exports in June compared to a year earlier and a 5.3% increase in imports.

The country also reported a trade surplus of US$500 million (S$696 million) in June, compared with a US$900 million deficit in the previous month.

Source: Nhan Dan Online
 

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