Vietnam’s economy rises by 4.48% in Q4

Bloomberg

Vietnam’s economic growth accelerated in the fourth quarter as exports and manufacturing extended their recovery from the pandemic slump earlier this year.
Gross domestic product (GDP) rises 4.48% in the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier, up from a revised 2.69% in the third quarter, the General Statistics Office said. That compared to the median estimate of 4.0% for the fourth quarter in a Bloomberg survey of 18 economists.
The economy expanded 2.91% for the full year, compared to the median estimate of 2.8% in the Bloomberg survey. The government’s latest full-year growth forecast for 2020 is 2%-3%.
“The covid-19 pandemic has sent economic growth this year to the lowest level in 2011-2020 period,” Nguyen Thi Huong, head of the statistics office, said at a briefing in Hanoi. “However, recovery in manufacturing has been the key driver that boosted growth.”
Exports in the country rise 17.6% in December compared to a year earlier, while imports climbed 22.7%. For the full year, exports increased 6.5% and imports gained 3.6%.
Vietnam’s trade deficit in December was at $1 billion and the country recorded a full-year trade surplus of $19.1 billion.
While consumer prices in the Asian country rise 0.19% in December from a year earlier, manufacturing for the full year rise by 5.82%.
Pledged foreign direct investment for 2020 through December 20 was down 25% year-on-year to $28.5 billion, while disbursed FDI dropped 2% to about $20 billion.
After the US Treasury designated Vietnam last week as a currency manipulator, the country’s central bank said it doesn’t use the exchange rate “to create an unfair competitive advantage in international trade.”
Vietnam will strive for 2021 economic growth of 6.5%, a goal that would exceed its official target of 6% growth for next year, according to a post on the government’s website, which cited Premier Nguyen Xuan Phuc during a conference with local officials.