The Economy of Vietnam Grew 0.36% in the Second Quarter

On Monday, the General Statistics Office made an important statement. According to the statement, the economy of Vietnam grew 0.36% in the second quarter of this year. As a result, Vietnam’s economic growth fell to its slowest pace in at least 30 years.

The local economy expanded by 6.73% during the same period last year. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was hard to surpass this result. It is worth noting that the coronavirus pandemic has left a negative impact on all socio-economic aspects.

Moreover, to achieve the government’s official 2020 target of 6.8%, the economy would need to expand 10% in the second half of the year. It would be tough to reach this goal. The target was set before the pandemic. Thus, it was impossible to take into account that pandemic would create a lot of problems for the economy.

The coronavirus pandemic continues to dominate the headlines around the world, as analysts, investors, and government officials are working hard to learn more about the ongoing situation. It is not surprising as the pandemic had a dramatic impact on the global economy and they want to know, how long it would take to get the economy back on track. This is one of the most important challenges for the private as well as governmental organizations. For example, in the case of the aviation industry, it will be quite difficult to convince travelers to return to airports.

The state of the local economy

Let’s get back to the local economy. The services sector in the second quarter contracted 1.76% compared to the same period of time in 2019. However, the industrial sector advanced 1.38% and the agriculture sector gained 1.72%.

Importantly, Vietnam is seeking to resume economic activity and the country has the ability to boost the local economy. As a reminder, the country recorded only several hundred coronavirus cases.

Moreover, for many countries around the world, it will be tough to get the economy back on track by the end of the year. Interestingly, according to the information provided by the International Monetary Fund, the local economy is expected to grow in 2020 as well. The growth will slow to 2.7%. Furthermore, the country’s government will try to keep the growth rate above 5%.

Vietnam’s exports in the first six months of the year fell 1.1% compared to the same period in 2019 to $121.21 billion. At the same time, imports dropped by 3.0% to $117.17 billion. 16. As a result, the trade surplus reached $4.04 billion.