HANOI -- Vietnam’s economy recovered this quarter with a surge in exports allowing it to rejoin a small group of nations posting growth rates of more than 6%.
Gross domestic product rose 6.17% in the second quarter from a year earlier, compared with a revised 5.15% in the previous three months, the General Statistics Office said in Hanoi on Thursday.
The economy expanded 5.73% in the six months through June,
Key takeaways
Vietnam’s government is taking steps to boost growth after Samsung Electronics Co’s production cuts hurt the economy in the first quarter, underscoring the nation’s dependence on exports. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in May said officials were preparing strategies to boost electronics and agriculture, while improving the business climate to lure more investment.
While the World Bank forecasts expansion will exceed 6% this year until 2019, rising trade protectionism poses a risk and shallow policy buffers are a concern to some extent, it said this month. The nation is also vulnerable to environmental disasters, such as the crippling drought last year that hurt agriculture and fanned inflation.
In Asia, economies growing more than 6% a year include China, India and the Philippines.
Economist view
“Growth rates of around 6% over the next two years is possible,” said Eugenia Victorino, an economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Singapore. “The key to a resilient growth model is diversification in export markets and product mix.”
Other Details
Manufacturing rose 12.1% in the second quarter from a year earlier, as Samsung boosted production of the Galaxy Note 8.
Exports increased more than 20% every month this quarter.
Vietnam posted a trade deficit of $200 million in June. In the first half of the year, it had a trade deficit of $2.7 billion.
Consumer prices rose 2.54% in June from year earlier. The government aims to cap average price gains at 4% this year.